February 21, 2012 – The Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) has appointed Jim Burpee as president and CEO, effective immediately. The appointment follows the resignation of Pierre Guimond after approximately four years in the role.

“The board of directors stands firmly behind the work of the association as the voice of the electricity industry,” said CEA board chair, Chris Huskilson. “We wish to acknowledge the progress shown under Pierre’s leadership in communicating the importance of infrastructure renewal in Canada, and we offer our sincere thanks for his contribution to the association.”

The top priority for Burpee is to lead CEA as the industry meets the challenges and capitalizes on the opportunities associated with building the electricity infrastructure of the future, explained the association. “Recognizing that the Canadian electricity system is aging and its basic infrastructure needs to be strengthened, refurbished and expanded, there is currently no greater challenge than that of building infrastructure to renew our existing system and accommodate load growth to meet the needs of our customers,” it added.

“Electricity is the cornerstone of Canada’s prosperity,” said Burpee. “I’m pleased to be part of the Canadian electricity industry once again and to serve our members during this important time in our sector’s long history.”

Burpee has worked with both the Canadian and global electricity industries, most notably with Ontario Hydro and its successor company, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for more than 31 years. He worked in a senior executive capacity for more than half that time in different roles, including having responsibility for all of OPG’s non-nuclear generation fleet, energy markets, and corporate development. He also has three years of senior executive experience in Ontario Hydro/OPG’s nuclear generation business at both Bruce and Pickering Generating Stations. His prior industry experience includes having served on the CEA board as a director from 1993 to 2008, including one year as chair.

Most recently, he served as CEO at Bridge Renewable Energy Technologies, a company which marketed biomass gasification electricity systems primarily in the developing world.

Burpee graduated from the University of Toronto with a BASc in Mechanical Engineering, and is a member of Professional Engineers Ontario and the Institute for Corporate Directors.