Hydro One and Canadian Niagara Power collaborate to strengthen electricity infrastructure and improve reliability for the Port Colborne area

PORT COLBORNE, ON, July 5, 2019 – Today, Hydro One, Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution company, announced plans to invest approximately $30 million to advance the refurbishment of the Port Colborne Transmission Station to improve reliability for the City of Port Colborne. In the interim, Hydro One will move forward to energize a second source of power to enable a reduction in the duration of power interruptions. In the case that an outage impacts Hydro One equipment, the City will now have an alternate source to provide the region with safe and reliable power.

Upgrades and enhancements to infrastructure will include:

  • Advancing the refurbishment of the Port Colborne Transmission Station, with a planned 2022 completion date.
  • Once complete, the station refurbishment and upgrades will provide a second source of power to the Port Colborne area to improve long-term reliability.
  • Moving forward with interim plans to energize a second source of power to be remotely switched in service by Hydro One’s Ontario Grid Control Center, a central hub that oversees daily operations.

“A loss of power grinds life to a halt, impacting businesses, families and productivity, which is why Hydro One is taking immediate steps to build a stronger, safer electricity source for the Port Colborne area,” said Imran Merali, Vice President, Customer Service, Hydro One. “Through this collaboration with the community and Canadian Niagara Power, Hydro One will be able to replace aging infrastructure, improve reliability and upgrade the system to provide short and long-term benefits to our customers.”

“Canadian Niagara Power has and will continue to invest substantially into its Port Colborne service territory infrastructure,” says Don Gilbert, Regional Manager of CNPI.  “Areas of focus include: system refurbishment, distribution automation and enhancements to protection and control.  Canadian Niagara Power also remains committed to vegetation management, system inspection and maintenance.  We would like to recognize the efforts made by Hydro One to enhance reliability from the source provider.”

“We would like to thank Hydro One for hearing not only the concerns of council but of our residents and businesses, making the commitment to adjust their delivery dates for renovations to the Davis Street Sub-Station and to re-activate the second line, C1P, coming into Port Colborne to ensure reliable service to our ratepayers,” commented Mayor Bill Steele. “Partnerships are important to this administration and the recent collaborations between Hydro One, Canadian Niagara Power and the City of Port Colborne are proving to be in the best interests of our residents and businesses.”

 

About Hydro One Inc.:

Hydro One Inc. is a fully owned subsidiary of Hydro One Limited, Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution provider with almost 1.4 million valued customers, almost C$25.5 billion in assets and 2018 annual revenues of almost C$6.2 billion. Our team of approximately 8,600 skilled and dedicated employees proudly build and maintain a safe and reliable electricity system which is essential to supporting strong and successful communities. In 2018, Hydro One invested almost $1.6 billion in its 30,000 circuit kilometres of high-voltage transmission and 123,000 circuit kilometres of primary distribution networks and injected approximately $1.3 billion into the economy by buying goods and services in Ontario. We are committed to the communities where we live and work through community investment, sustainability and diversity initiatives. We are one of only six utility companies in Canada to achieve the Sustainable Electricity Company designation from the Canadian Electricity Association. Hydro One Limited's common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: H).

 

For further information: Hydro One Media Relations 24 hours a day at 1-877-506-7584 (toll-free in Ontario only) or 416-345-6868. Our website is www.HydroOne.com. Follow us on facebook.com/hydrooneofficial, twitter.com/hydroone and instagram.com/hydrooneofficial.

 

About Canadian Niagara Power Inc.:

CNPI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of FortisOntario Inc. ("FortisOntario"). CNPI has approximately 29,000 customers in Fort Erie, Port Colborne, and Gananoque. For further information visit www.cnpower.com. FortisOntario, headquartered in Fort Erie, has operations in electricity distribution and transmission and serves approximately 65,500 customers primarily located in Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Cornwall, Gananoque, and the Algoma district of Ontario and meets a peak demand of 257 MW. FortisOntario also acts as project manager for the Wataynikaneyap Power Transmission Project.  FortisOntario is a subsidiary of Fortis Inc., a leader in the North American regulated electric and gas utility industry. For further information visit www.fortisinc.com.

 

Forward-Looking Statements and 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: momentum; continuous improvement; commitment to safety and service; vision and strategy; customer service; reliability and performance; connections; the Company's transmission and distribution regulatory applications, related decisions and anticipated impacts; ongoing and planned investments, projects and initiatives; dividends; and transition of the Company's senior management team. 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 or actions 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, are discussed more fully in Hydro One's filings with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, which 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.

For further information: For more information, contact Hydro One Media Relations 24 hours a day at 1-877-506-7584 (toll-free in Ontario only) or 416-345-6868. Our website is www.HydroOne.com. Follow us on facebook.com/hydrooneofficial, twitter.com/hydroone and instagram.com/hydrooneofficial.