Newsroom

TORONTO, September 22, 2015 - Hydro One’s Electricity Discovery Centre (EDC) celebrates its second anniversary this week as it travels to the 2015 International Plowing Match and Rural Expo in Finch, Ontario.

Hydro One has been a proud supporter of the International Plowing Match (IPM) for more than 10 years through building the power grid that serves the match and the RV park. Building the infrastructure to supply enough electricity to power the equivalent of a small town required for the IPM represents about a $500,000 in-kind investment. Over the last several weeks, apprentices erected 325 poles and approximately 19 kilometres of power lines.

In addition, Hydro One has a large tent, equipment on display and its EDC at the IPM. In its two years of operation, the EDC travelled more than 21,000 km to attend over 50 fairs and events. More than 53,000 Ontarians experienced the EDC at the various events and about 95 per cent of visitors said they would recommend visiting the centre to family and friends.

“Hydro One takes its commitment to educating its customers seriously. Our participation at the IPM is important as it provides us with the opportunity to interact directly with our customers through the Electricity Discovery Centre and the staff working at our site. We look forward to visiting more communities and meeting with customers face-to-face as the centre continues to travel across Ontario,” said Greg Towns, Director, Provincial Lines, Hydro One. 

The EDC is a 1,000-square foot state-of-the-art mobile education trailer with interactive games and exhibits that explain Ontario’s power system, help customers manage their electricity use and costs, and educate children about electricity safety. The EDC ambassadors engage and educate visitors, offer tours through the exhibits, help customers with the various touchscreens and answering questions on anything from understanding billing to modernizing outage detection and restoration.

The EDC has two new exhibits this year, the Wire Wall and Pedal-A-Watt. The Wire Wall display offers visitors an exclusive opportunity to safely examine the lines that make up the high voltage transmission system and low voltage distribution system. The Pedal-a-Watt lets visitors generate their own power to run common household electronics. Another popular feature is the solar charging station, where visitors can recharge their tablets and smartphones with renewable energy from the sun while they enjoy their EDC experience.

Children learn about electricity safety by meeting Ellie, the virtual leader of the Kids’ Electricity Safety Team, and becoming members by finding 11 electrical hazards around the home.

Visit the EDC at the IPM from September 22 to 26. The event is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Hydro One Inc. is an electricity transmission and distribution company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario with approximately $23 billion in assets and 2014 revenues of over $6 billion. The company delivers electricity safely and reliably to over 1.2 million customers across the province of Ontario, and to large industrial customers and municipal utilities.  Hydro One Inc. owns and operates Ontario’s 29,000 km high-voltage transmission network and a 122,000 circuit km primary low-voltage distribution network.  Hydro One Inc. is currently wholly-owned by the Province of Ontario.

Forward Looking Information

This press release may contain “forward looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws.  Such information includes, but is not limited to: statements related to potential growth, future performance and future opportunities.  Words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "attempt," "may," "plan," "will", "can", "believe," "seek," "estimate," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking information. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions and risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking information. Some of the factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from the results expressed, implied or forecasted by such forward-looking information, including some of the assumptions used in making such statements, is discussed more fully in Hydro One’s filings with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, and are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Hydro One does not intend, and it disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information, except as required by law.

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