July 5, 2022 – Several distribution utilities from across Ontario were recently honoured during the Electricity Distributors Association’s Awards Gala.

“We are pleased to highlight this year’s most remarkable and inspiring achievements that our members are delivering on for the benefit of their customers,” said Teresa Sarkesian, EDA’s president & CEO.

The Local Distribution Company Performance Excellence Award recognizes outstanding performance in occupational health & safety, operations, finance, conservation, and contributions to the community. This year, it was awarded to Entegrus Powerlines for accomplishments that included a comprehensive health & safety management system worthy of IHSA COR2 certification and strong community investments, with approx. $425,000 charitable donations in 2020.

The Public Electrical Safety Excellence Award (sponsored by Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority) was granted to all LDC members for their efforts toward safely delivering reliable electricity to Ontarians in 2020.

The Communications Excellence Award was presented to Alectra Utilities for successfully engaging employees through its internal communications from the outset of the pandemic.

Alectra’s Rossana Broderick said the recognition “reinforces our belief that effective, innovative and timely communications with employees is important to the cultural fabric of a great organization”.

“The award is the result of strong collaboration among many teams working seamlessly toward a common goal to take care of our employees so they can take care of our customers,” added Broderick.

The Customer Service Excellence Award was presented to London Hydro for undertaking an extensive website refresh to improve customer self-service options, including a Price Plan Calculator for residential and small business customers.

The Environmental Excellence Award was presented to Hydro One for supporting Ontario’s biodiversity through its Pollinator Habitat Program, including mechanical vegetation management activities and rights-of-way revitalization with the addition of pollinator species.

The Innovation Excellence Award was presented to Waterloo North Hydro for introducing a Fault Location, Isolation & Service Restoration project to its distribution system, helping to decrease the severity and duration of power interruptions for customers through system automation and technological advancement.

The Public Relations Excellence Award was presented to Burlington Hydro for its approach to celebrating its 75th anniversary in the midst of the pandemic, building trust and showcasing its long-standing history in the community.

Two Chair’s Citations for individual achievement and service were presented to Max Cananzi, formerly of Alectra Utilities, and Dr. George Shaparew of InnPower Corp.

Also, two Honorary Memberships for individual service to the industry and EDA with distinction were presented to Bart Burman of Burman Energy Consultants and Pierre Carriere, formerly of Coopérative Hydro Embrun Inc.

The Electricity Distributors Association serves Ontario’s local electricity distributors, both municipally and privately owned.