OTTAWA, ON, June 25, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, Hydro Ottawa Holding
Inc. presented its 2023 Annual Report, highlighting successes in
enabling sustainable energy solutions for customers, preparing for
and responding to extreme weather events, and maintaining a safe
and reliable supply of electricity.
Board Chair, Bernie Ashe, and
President and Chief Executive Officer, Bryce Conrad, presented the company's 2023
results during the Annual General Meeting today before Ottawa City
Council. They also provided an update on the company's portfolio of
locally-based clean energy project partnerships, ongoing efforts to
boost grid resilience in the face of increasingly frequent severe
weather events, and plans for investing in distribution system
infrastructure over the coming years to support the city's growth
and increased electrification of the economy.
Hydro Ottawa's core mandate
remains unchanged: to provide a safe, reliable supply of
electricity to approximately 364,000 residential and commercial
customers that rely upon the company every day; and to ensure a
more sustainable energy future for its community.
Quick Facts
- Hydro Ottawa's 2023
consolidated net income was $24.1
million.
- In accordance with the City Council-approved dividend policy,
Hydro Ottawa's dividend payment to the City will be $20 million this year, which will be used by the
City to fund municipal programs and services.
- Despite the impacts of extreme weather events, Hydro Ottawa's
maintained high levels of service reliability and achieved its
second best-ever outage frequency result. On average, Hydro Ottawa
customers had power 99.92 per cent of the time.
- As part of its focus on improving emergency preparedness and
response, Hydro Ottawa introduced outage alert notifications to
customers via text message and email, along with a new online
outage map with enhanced functionality.
- Hydro Ottawa announced a
partnership with The Ottawa Hospital to design and develop an
energy-efficient central utility plant for its new Civic Campus.
The plant will sustainably power the state-of-the-art facility and
help minimize its carbon footprint.
- Portage Power, the company's renewable energy subsidiary, was
awarded a 20-year contract for Renewable Energy Certificates from
the New York State Energy Research
and Development Authority, through the State's Renewable Energy
Standard program.
- Envari, the company's energy and utility services business,
continued to advance its signature carbon-reduction partnerships:
supporting OC Transpo with transitioning to a zero-emission bus
fleet and assisting the Ottawa
International Airport Authority in reducing its energy consumption
and environmental footprint.
- To help enable a smart and connected National Capital Region,
Hydro Ottawa publicly launched its new telecommunications
affiliate, Hiboo Networks, which will provide fiber optic network
solutions to businesses and institutions in Ottawa and Gatineau.
- Hydro Ottawa achieved a 91 per
cent overall customer satisfaction score and maintained the highest
e-billing participation rate among Ontario distribution utilities (65 per
cent).
- The journey towards becoming the first municipally-owned
utility in Canada to achieve
net-zero operations continued with the procurement of additional
electric vehicles (EVs) for field crews, the installation of EV
chargers at work centres, and the launch of environmental
assessment and public consultation processes for the Piperville
Municipal Transformer Station, which is being developed using
low-carbon design and construction techniques.
- During an 84-day labour strike, Hydro Ottawa successfully
executed its contingency plans for maintaining service to customers
and mobilizing additional resources to assist with outage
restoration.
- Hydro Ottawa's employee-driven
charitable campaign raised more than $142,000 for United Way Eastern Ontario and
$53,000 for the Royal Ottawa Prompt
Care Clinic. In addition, sponsorships and donations totalling
$102,000 were contributed through the
Community Investment Program to local organizations supporting
vulnerable groups and seeking to build stronger and healthier
communities.
Quotes
"In 2023, Hydro Ottawa once again demonstrated that we will
deliver on our mission to provide safe, reliable electricity, no
matter what challenges come our way. In the face of extreme weather
events, significant economic pressures and a labour strike, the
company pushed forward and never wavered in its commitment to being
there for the residents and businesses who depend on us. I'm proud
of how the team has emerged stronger, with our attention firmly
fixed on the exciting opportunities ahead for adopting more
sustainable ways of using energy."
-Bernie Ashe, Chair, Board of
Directors
"More and more, overcoming adversity and adapting to change are
key watchwords for Hydro Ottawa. Not only did we navigate a
landscape of continuous challenges in 2023, we did so while
pursuing new opportunities aimed at accelerating the transition to
a more sustainable future. Building on the lessons and
accomplishments of the past year, we're more focused than ever on
being a trusted partner and solutions provider for our customers
and community."
-Bryce Conrad, President and
Chief Executive Officer
www.hydroottawa.com
About Hydro Ottawa Holding
Inc.
Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. (Hydro Ottawa) is a private company
100 per cent owned by the City of
Ottawa and whose core businesses are electricity
distribution, renewable energy generation, energy solutions,
telecommunications and utility services. As a leading partner in a
smart energy future, Hydro Ottawa is committed to sustainability
and reducing its impact on the environment in all aspects of its
operations. It owns and operates four primary subsidiary companies:
Hydro Ottawa Limited – a local distribution company that delivers
electricity to more than 364,000 customers in the City of Ottawa and the Village of Casselman; Portage Power – the
largest Ontario-based
municipally-owned producer of green power with 131 megawatts of
installed green generation capacity (enough to power 110,000
homes); Envari – an energy solutions company offering products and
services that help reduce energy consumption and costs for
municipalities, industrial and commercial clients, and various
local distribution companies; and Hiboo Networks - a high-speed
fiber optic network solutions and internet service company
providing customers in the Ottawa-Gatineau region with secure and scalable
connectivity to enable a strong digital future.
SOURCE Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc.