May 15, 2019 – Emerson has added four new models of its Greenlee battery hydraulic crimpers and cutters, including two in-line quad point indenters (example pictured), a die-less underground indenting crimper and an in-line aluminum conductor steel-reinforced cable (ACSR) and guy wire cutter.

May 15, 2019 – Legrand has introduced its Wattstopper wireless digital lighting management (DLM) system, comprising a variety of IPv6 mesh-based wireless control products.

May 10, 2019 – Hammond Power Solutions (HPS) in Guelph, Ont., has developed new low- and medium-voltage distribution and drive-isolation transformers to meet Canada’s newest energy-efficiency regulation.

May 10, 2019 – Compression connector manufacturer Burndy, a Hubbell brand, has released the OEM175 pneumatic crimping press for wire harness shops and panel builders.

April 30, 2019 – Platinum Tools has introduced the MapMaster Mini Pocket RJ45 cable tester and will be featuring it at the InfoComm trade show this June in Orlando, Fla.

April 25, 2019 – Tuffy Security Products’ Model 354 is a  console insert for 2019 Dodge Ram pickup trucks, designed to be concealed under the original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM’s) sliding tray, except versions with cup holders that have lids.

April 23, 2019 – CSA has listed Meltric’s upgraded DS200 power receptacle for Zone 2 hazardous locations.

April 12, 2019 – Arlington’s new FLBR5420-series recessed floor box kits feature two low-voltage (LV) openings, an ultra-thin stamped steel flange and flush-to-the-floor in-use and blank covers.

April 3, 2019 – Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) Systems has designed its VP40 non-contact voltage detector with a built-in flashlight for preliminary jobsite checks on live and neutral wiring in sockets and junction boxes.

April 3, 2019 – Eaton has introduced to the Canadian market a line of colour-coded Arrow Hart locking devices for use in commercial and industrial applications, to make it easier for electrical contractors to identify circuit ratings.

April 1, 2019 – Fluke Networks has introduced the MicroScanner PoE to assist technicians in the installation and troubleshooting of Power over Ethernet (PoE) cabling and devices, including those that support the new high-power 802.3bt standard, which was ratified in late 2018.

April 15, 2019 – A provincial court in Orangeville, Ont., has ordered Alexander Bonello, operating as Btek Renewable Energy Products from nearby Tottenham, to pay a $10,000 fine and a $2,500 victim surcharge for work he conducted without an electrical contractor’s licence and for failing to apply for an inspection.

April 15, 2019 – Honda Canada has recalled its EU2200i portable generator, as its manual fuel valve can leak gasoline, posing a fire and burn hazard.

April 11, 2019 – Health Canada has announced recalls for a variety of electrical heaters due to fire hazards, including products manufactured by Ouellet (examples pictured), Electrimart, Global Commander, Stelpro Design, Uniwatt, Chromalox, Centurion, Electromode, Westcan and Dimplex.

March 22, 2019 – Legrand North America has issued a recall for a 15-A 125-V white indoor duplex wall outlet that was sold exclusively at Lowe’s retail stores across Canada from February 2018 to January 2019.

February 28, 2019 – The RSA-224 is CBS ArcSafe’s latest remote switch actuator, designed for use with the Eaton/Cutler-Hammer Pow-R-Way line of 100 to 200-A busway systems.

February 28, 2019 - Hamilton’s Provincial Offences Court has convicted Leonard Sankar, owner and operator of MJ Construction, for conducting unsafe electrical work without the necessary licence across Southern Ontario.

February 27, 2019 – CSA Group has notified the public of a counterfeit version of its certification mark appearing on various models of General International Manufacturing’s magnetic safety switches (examples pictured).

February 13, 2019 - Not long ago, artificial intelligence (AI) was far too technically unconventional for most of us to foresee how it could influence the world in practical and pragmatic ways. Now, however, the future of AI has truly arrived.

February 13, 2019 - ‘Continuous improvement’ is a way of life for many businesses today, accepted as a standard approach for enhancing quality, productivity and processes. At the core of continuous improvement are such steps as defining root causes of issues or hazards, planning and executing preventative actions to eliminate them and deploying new technologies and practices to minimize their impact. This approach can be extended to electrical safety—where it is sorely needed.



February 5, 2019 – At its fifth annual operations and maintenance (O&M) summit last week in Mississauga, Ont., which more than 260 professionals attended, the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) highlighted its new guide, Best Practices in Wind Power Facility Electrical Safety.

January 10, 2019 – CSA Group reports Stanley Black & Decker Canada recently recalled certain models of its hammer drills and drill/drivers, following a report of injury in the U.S.

May 13, 2019 - Tackle the Code Conundrum if you dare!

May 10, 2019 - Rule 2-024 of the CE Code mandates that all equipment used within the scope of the Code must be approved. ‘Approved’ is a specifically defined term, requiring the certification of equipment to ensure it complies with the applicable recognized standard(s), as listed in Appendix A. One important aspect of approval requirements for equipment is correlation with the provisions of the CE Code. The approval requirement presents a challenge for high-voltage equipment that has no applicable certification standard.

April 12, 2019 - Section 64-112 of the CE Code tells us a utility interactive point of connection for a solar project must meet the requirements of the supply authority and Section 84, based on predetermined safety factors. So, even though most utilities (i.e. supply authorities) are not required to conform to Section 84, the installation must do so, as a minimum.

April 11, 2019 - Tackle the Code Conundrum if you dare!

March 13, 2019 – CSA Group has released a new report, compiling the results of stakeholder workshops that discussed potential climate change ‘adaptation solutions’ for the Canadian Electrical Code.

February 13, 2019 - Tackle the Code Conundrum if you dare!

February 13, 2019 -  Section 4 in the CE Code discusses the selection of conductors and their ampacities. In 2018, the scope of this section’s Rule 4-000 was revised to clarify its intent. At the same time, since Section 12 covers conductor installation, some rules were relocated from Section 4 to Section 12 and vice-versa, for the sake of consistency and to support the revised scope of Section 4.

December 11, 2018 - Tackle December's Code Conundrum ... if you dare! 

December 11, 2018 - The 2015 CE Code saw a number of changes to Section 68: Pools, Tubs, Spas. The 2018 CE Code also added a few more changes, but you might just wonder, what is really new with pools from the past few years?

November 27, 2018 - This is my third and final column about the 2018 CE Code’s Section 10 rewrite (the first two were posted online in June and August). This time, I am focusing on rules related to the grounding of separately derived systems, such as generators and transformers.

November 26, 2018 - Tackle October's Code Conundrum ... if you dare!

September 27, 2018 — With the rewrite of CE Code Section 10, a number of questions spring to mind. In my opinion, the most important are what is the intent of Rule 10-210 and what is it really saying?

February 26, 2019 – New Brunswick Power (NB Power) and Joi Scientific are working together on what they say will be the world’s first distributed electricity grid to use hydrogen as a baseload, thanks to the province's readily available coastal seawater.

January 14, 2019 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced federal government support for Deep Earth Energy Production’s new geothermal power facility near Estevan, Sask., which will turn heat from the Earth’s crust into electricity.

December 12, 2018 - On Oct. 31, National Energy Board (NEB) chair and CEO Peter Watson introduced a new outlook report with a speech to the Toronto Region Board of Trade. Discussing the report’s projections for future energy supply and demand at a national level (through 2040), he explained Canada’s ‘electricity mix’ is becoming greener, as renewable sources experience significant rates of growth and play an increasingly important role.

October 3, 2018 – The government of Alberta has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for large-scale solar energy provision to meet more than half of its ‘green power’ needs.

August 23, 2018  — According to the “Global Advanced Energy Storage Systems Market 2018-2022,” report from ResearchAndMarkets.com, the global advanced energy storage systems market is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.48 per cent from 2018-2022.

July 30, 2018 — ABB and Ballard Power Systems have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on developing the next-generation fuel cell power system for sustainable marine e-mobility.

July 20, 2018 — SaskPower is launching the deployment phase of its second pilot for commercial and industrial smart meters.

July 19, 2018 — The Government of Ontario has decided to cancel and wind down 758 renewable energy contracts.

July 12, 2018 — The New Brunswick government has committed $10 million to help establish the province as a leader in the field of research and development of small modular reactor (SMR) technology.

July 12, 2018 — The Nova Scotia government recently announced the new SolarHomes Program, which will help Nova Scotians save money on their electricity bills by installing solar panels.

July 4, 2018 — SaskPower recently announced that Saturn Power is the successful proponent for Saskatchewan’s first utility-scale solar power project.

May 10, 2019 - About this same time last year, Electro-Federation Canada (EFC) introduced a new brand identity to its members. The timing of the launch was quite intentional, as the brand was designed to reflect how the electrical market was becoming an increasingly important backbone for new developments in intelligent buildings, industrial automation, smart homes, robotics, electrification and digitalization, among other key areas.

February 1, 2019 – During last month’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nev., the 2019 class for the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) was announced, including Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer III, who revolutionized electric power systems by developing the world’s first microprocessor-based digital protective relay.

December 17, 2018 - Scientists are getting closer to designing thermoelectric materials that could efficiently harvest heat from the surrounding environment and convert it into electricity to power devices and appliances, according to a review of the latest research in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials (STAM).

December 4, 2018 - Earlier this year, Technical Safety BC worked with Baker Engineering and Risk Consultants (BakerRisk) to conduct an electric shock fault tree workshop, so as to evaluate potential causes of electric shocks and make recommendations to address the key causal factors behind those risks.

The Canadian Truck King Challenge (CTKC) recently celebrated its 12th anniversary by crowning the 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali its new champion.

April 27, 2018 - A lot of things have changed since I first began attending and covering The MEET Show for Electrical Business Magazine over a decade ago. Back then, the lighting market was dominated by HIDs, PARs and fluorescents, crummy CFLs were making inroads and LEDs as lighting... well, they were a cute little novelty.

April 25, 2018 - This Saturday, April 28—the national Day of Mourning—we remember and honour workers who have died, been injured or suffered illness in the workplace.

January 29, 2018 - While Ottawa continues to fumble and stumble, bringing us ever closer to the brink of falling off the world stage altogether, a coalition of Canadian manufacturers is trying to do what it can to keep that from happening.

June 1, 2017 - After a few years of missing Lightfair due to scheduling conflicts, I was finally able to attend the 2017 edition and, boy, the exhibitors were putting their best feet forward. I haven’t seen so many large, colourful and distinctive booths since... well, maybe never.

November 16, 2017 - You can’t blame business owners for feeling like they’re being bombarded by government.

September 30, 2017 - The largest industry conference for the IEEE Petroleum & Chemical Industry Committee (IEEE-PCIC) has wrapped up in Calgary and, despite the recent weather-related disasters in the States, the event still attracted some 1435 delegates and 378 guests.

November 30, 2018 – Storage Battery Systems (SBS) has opened Battery Academy, a new training program and facility for professionals in the utility and telecommunications industries.

September 14, 2018 — Okanagan College says its new Trades Training Centre will prepare more skilled-trades students throughout British Columbia.

September 13, 2018 - The Alberta Electrical Association (AEA) has announced the winners of its 2018 scholarships.

August 3, 2018 — The Solar Energy Society of Alberta and Energy Efficiency Alberta, in partnership with the Electrical Inspectors Association of Alberta, have announced six upcoming workshops on the Canadian Electrical Code updates for solar photovoltaics.

May 28, 2018 — The Skills Ontario Competition, which took place earlier this month, featured nearly 70 skilled trades and technologies contests, and 2,300 competitors from elementary schools, high schools and colleges across Ontario.

May 10, 2018 - The Safety Codes Council encourages you to sign up now for the Alberta Electrical Inspectors Solar Workshop.

May 8, 2018 - Omron Automation Americas recently gifted Georgian College engineering technology students “with workforce-relevant technology”, and the college recognized its  partner of over 20 years by naming one of its technology labs in honour of Omron.

April 6, 2018 — As a result of an arrangement between Mohawk College and Alectra Utilities, a new Energy and Power Utilities Lab for the college has officially opened in a decommissioned substation in downtown Hamilton, Ont.

March 12, 2018 — B.C. Premier John Horgan recently announced a number of programs to support women working or entering a career in the building trades through improved workplace supports, services and practices.

March 12, 2018 — The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published a new white paper that provides an overview of electrical and electronic equipment surge susceptibility: NEMA VSP 1-2017 “Susceptibility of Electrical and Electronic Components to Surge Damage.”

February 23, 2018 — Schneider Electric has launched its eighth year of “Go Green in the City,” an annual global contest that invites business and engineering students to find solutions for more energy-efficient cities.