November 6, 2014 – The Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) celebrated the accomplishments of its member utilities and their frontline employees at the 2014 Occupational Health & Safety Awards ceremony in Ottawa.

“The winners of this year’s OHS Awards have proven diligent in ensuring that electricity is delivered to Canadians in a manner that protects the safety and well-being of employees, contractors and the general public,” said Jim R. Burpee, CEA president and CEO.

Utilities recognized for safety excellence include:

• ENMAX Corp.
• Nova Scotia Power Inc.
• Ontario Power Generation Inc.
• Capital Power Corp.
• Columbia Power Corp.
• Newfoundland & Labrador Hydro
• Newfoundland Power Inc.
• AltaLink
• Great Lakes Power

Meantime, the frontline utility employees who received CEA Lifesaving Awards helped save the life of a fellow employee or member of the public. Hats off to the following:

• Matt Eames and Shawn Seifried (OPG) for performing CPR on a colleague who suffered a heart attack at work.
• Craig Butler, Adam Tarnowski and Kimball Scott (Capital Power Corp.) for rescuing a driver with a broken leg from a burning vehicle.
• Brittni Hallett (Capital Power Corp.) for performing First Aid on an unconscious shopper and assisting paramedics.
• Lorne Prodahl and Jeff McKerracher (SaskPower) for rescuing two canoeists from the water after their canoes had been swept away by heavy currents.
• Erik Tippett (Enmax Corp.) for saving an elderly woman who had fallen, was in a state of shock, and was stuck outside in freezing weather.
• Gregory Wells (Enmax Corp.) for performing CPR on a driver who had suffered a heart attack behind the wheel.

CEA compiles data from its corporate utility members annually and, since 2009, there has been a 19.55% decrease in the all injury/illness frequency rate of participating electric utilities.