Andrew Collins
Electrical Pole Fire
On June 29, Rob Lister, CEO of Oakville Hydro Corporation, presented highlights from 2014 as part of the company’s Annual General Meeting at the Town of Oakville’s Council meeting.
When speaking about Oakville Hydro, the local electricity distribution company, he noted that families and businesses in Oakville rely on a steady power supply to fuel their everyday lives. “In 2014, Oakville Hydro had one of the best performance and reliability records in our history. Customer outage minutes continue to drop and our index of reliability is industry-leading,” noted Lister.
He also provided Town Council with the following highlights from across the Corporation:
Customer Service: Oakville Hydro received top marks for customer satisfaction according to the results of the 2015 UtilityPULSE Electrical Utility Customer Satisfaction Survey. This study compares Oakville Hydro’s performance and outcomes to other local distribution companies across Ontario. This year, Oakville Hydro received a 92% approval rate, above the Ontario average of 86%, and earned an “A” rating.
Safety: Safety is always the company’s top priority. Oakville Hydro was honored to receive the 2014 President’s Award from the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association for achieving 500,000 hours without a lost time injury. The company continues to promote safety with Rob Ellis through the MySafeWork program (youth worker safety) and the ongoing tree trimming program with the Town of Oakville ensures safe clearance between power lines and branches.
Community: Oakville Hydro is a proud community partner. Employees take part and support dozens of community events every year; including: the Santa Claus Parade, various United Way Oakville events, Chamber of Commerce events, the local Terry Fox Run and Polar Bear Dip.
Pole Fires: In February 2015, during one of the coldest winters on record, like many other electric utilities, Oakville experienced “arcing” that caused wooden poles to catch fire. Over the winter months, the accumulation of road salt and brine spray was agitated by passing cars, which left a salty deposit on the poles. Rain causes a conductive layer, which can lead to arcing. Arcing, when severe, causes wooden poles to catch on fire. Oakville Hydro is now upgrading equipment in high traffic areas to reduce the likelihood of this occurring in the future.
Conservation: Between 2011 and 2014 Oakville Hydro helped local families and businesses save 64 GWh of energy and reduced demand in the community by 12 MW. Over $3 million in incentives were paid to local businesses for retrofit projects.
Generation and Energy Services: The Corporation has a diversified mix of generation assets and continues to seek out new opportunities and projects in renewable generation.
