June 19, 2019 – Halifax-based LED Roadway Lighting (LRL) has won the Michelin Innovation in Manufacturing Award for its Data Acquisition Platform (DAP) sensor-based lighting controller.

June 18, 2019 – In Gravenhurst, Ont., Dura-Line manufactures PowerGuard high-density polyethylene (HDPE) conduit for low- and high-voltage cables, meeting CSA C22.2 standards for electrical use.

June 18, 2019 – The FLIR T840 thermal camera boasts an integrated colour viewfinder to help electrical utility and plant managers find and diagnose failing components, particularly during substation and distribution line inspections outdoors in very bright lighting conditions.

June 17, 2019 – Littelfuse has launched the SPD2 series of Type 2 surge protection devices (SPDs) to safeguard sensitive equipment in industrial facilities by limiting the fault current to a load or to the unit being protected.

June 12, 2019 – Arlington says its GC50 zinc (pictured) and GC75 aluminum grounding connectors are designed to deliver flexibility, convenience and cost savings.

June 7, 2019 – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Canada’s fleet operations division recently made the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) stop of its 2019 spring launch tour—which has also made stops in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton—at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton, Ont.

June 5, 2019 – Master distributor ITC Electrical Components of Concord, Ont., has introduced Geos enclosures—manufactured in Germany by Spelsberg—designed for outdoor industrial applications.

June 4, 2019 – Eaton has introduced Power Defense moulded-case circuit breakers, which offer connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT) processes in buildings.

May 31, 2019 – LineWise, a utility-focused division of Diversified Products, has introduced the TLL-500A triple line lifter for supporting three phases of energized conductors, between 34.5 and 72.5 kV, in subtransmission applications.

May 24, 2019 - When Mercedes-Benz entered the Canadian market with the second-generation Sprinter in 2010 (it was previously sold here as a Dodge), the full-size cargo van market was vastly different than it is today. Ford was selling the E-Series, Nissan had not yet launched the NV in Canada and the Ram ProMaster was being sold in Europe as the Fiat Ducato.

May 22, 2019 – Current by GE has introduced the Arize Element TopLight, which it claims is the horticultural industry’s first one-for-one LED replacement for 1,000-W high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps.

June 17, 2019 - The two most evident electrical hazards in a workplace, i.e. shock and arc flash, can be extremely dangerous to people, infrastructure, profits and business concerns. As such, there are moral, social and economic costs involved, to varying degrees, with the consequences of a significant electrical incident in the workplace.

June 12, 2019 – Amazon, Health Canada and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have issued a joint recall for AmazonBasics 1,500-W ceramic space heaters that can overheat, posing a burn and fire hazard, potentially leading to injury or property damage.

June 7, 2019 – Apple, Health Canada and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have jointly recalled three-prong AC wall plug adapters—included in Apple’s ‘world travel adapter kit’—that can break, posing a risk of electric shock if exposed metal parts are touched.

June 6, 2019 – To commemorate June as National Electricity Month, Electro-Federation Canada (EFC) has launched an electrical safety campaign, which promotes the use of arc-fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) breakers and receptacles to prevent electrical fires.

June 5, 2019 – Health Canada, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) and Generation Brands have issued a joint recall for small Stratton pendant light fixtures, due to risk of injury. Specifically, the products’ glass pendant can detach, posing an impact hazard.

May 30, 2019 - A new global survey on facility electrical safety finds most respondents consider arc-flash mitigation a priority in their workplace, but fewer have completed risk assessments to identify hazardous areas, leaving workers exposed to dangerous conditions.

May 28, 2019 – CBS ArcSafe has introduced the RRS-3 LK, a single-application remote racking solution (RRS) to allow technicians to remotely install and remove ABB/BBC/ITE Type LK air circuit breakers from a safe distance of up to 300 ft away, stationed outside the arc-flash boundary.

May 3, 2019 – Model P03615 portable generators manufactured by Firman Power Equipment have been recalled due to the risk of a gas leak, which poses a potential hazard of toxicity and flammability.

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.

June 17, 2019 - Tackle the Code Conundrum if you dare!

June 14, 2019 - When an authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) such as myself asks, “What is your area classification or designation?’ what are we really asking? Most people assume we are looking at a section 18 requirement for a hazardous location. There are, however, several sections in which a determination from a third party is required and, in most instances, it must be in writing.

May 23, 2019 – Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has designed a Canadian field evaluation program for manufacturers, importers and end-users of ‘one-of-a-kind’ electrical equipment, along with electrical products and equipment produced in only limited quantities.

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?

March 7, 2019 – The Canadian Hydropower Association (CHA) has changed its corporate name to WaterPower Canada (WPC) in an attempt to make its messaging to stakeholders and the public more effective.

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.

June 4, 2019 – As wildfires burned elsewhere in the province, members of the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta (ECAA) travelled under smoky skies to meet at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge (JPL) for their annual convention, which ran from May 30 to June 2.

June 4, 2019* - Close to 550 Canadian electrical industry players flocked to Quebec City last week to attend the annual conference of Electro-Federation Canada, themed “Powering a Changing World”, and EBMag’s Jennifer DiIorio and I were there to enjoy the company.

May 24, 2019 – From May 6 to 9, IEEE held its 55th annual Industrial and Commercial Power Systems (I&CPS) Technical Conference—reflecting departmental activities within its Industry Applications Society (IAS)—at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in Calgary.

May 22, 2019 – Soaring higher and further was the overarching trend when the Ontario Electrical League (OEL) recently held its annual conference at the aviation-themed Nav Centre in Cornwall, Ont.

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.

December 17, 2018 - IBEW Local 530, based in Sarnia, Ont., has opened its first stand-alone training centre, supporting a broader selection of educational opportunities for apprentices and journeymen alike.

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.”