TORONTO, June 6, 2018 /CNW/ - The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) has presented Hydro One with an Emergency Recovery Award for its outstanding work responding to the mid-April ice storm that caused power outages for nearly 500,000 customers. The company also received an EEI Assistance Award for supporting two utility companies after devastating nor'easter storms Riley and Quinn hit the northeast U.S. in March, 2018.
Representing the sixth and seventh awards Hydro One has received from EEI, this recognition demonstrates the company's growing reputation for industry-leading emergency response.
"We would like to thank the Edison Electric Institute for awarding Hydro One with this honour and for recognizing the outstanding efforts of our employees. These awards demonstrate the breadth of Hydro One's commitment to delivering outstanding and safe service when restoring power to customers in a crisis – at home or abroad," said Greg Kiraly, Chief Operating Officer, Hydro One. "Our crews take great pride in the work they do and understand that their skills and expertise are what is needed during a crisis. This is why they won't stop until every last customer is reconnected."
The awards are presented to EEI member companies for outstanding emergency response efforts and providing assistance to other electric companies following severe weather conditions or other natural events. Winners were chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process.
"The dedicated crews from Hydro One are truly deserving of this recognition for their tremendous efforts to restore service in difficult conditions and to assist neighbouring electric companies in times of need," said EEI President Tom Kuhn. "Hydro One restoration efforts and its assistance during these March and April storms illustrate our industry's unwavering commitment to serving our customers and to providing mutual assistance."
On March 2, 2018, Hydro One received an official request for assistance from Baltimore Gas and Electric in Hanover, Maryland and Eversource in Hyannis, Massachusetts. More than 175 employees and over 100 vehicles and pieces of equipment were mobilized and headed south across the border. Hydro One crews travelled up to 600 km to join the restoration effort and did not stop working until their support was no longer needed nine days later. Hydro One's skilled and hardworking team helped to restore power to millions of residents left in the dark following the back-to-back winter storms.
Southern Ontario was then hit by a winter storm on April 14, 2018 that brought ice, wind and snow causing widespread damage and knocking out power to nearly a half million Hydro One customers. Despite the severity of the storm, Hydro One was able to mobilize more than 1,400 front-line staff to restore power to all affected customers in only four days. The speed of recovery set a new company record for major storm response and was made possible thanks to the focused energy of all staff involved, a more proactive approach to storm restoration and a new weather monitoring and prediction tool enabling the company to position crews in the expected path of the storm.
Hydro One has reciprocal agreements in place with North American utilities to provide assistance during significant power outages.
About Edison Electric Institute:
EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide electricity for 220 million Americans, and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a whole, the electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than 60 international electric companies as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.
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 more than 1.3 million valued customers, $25 billion in assets and 2017 annual revenues of nearly $6 billion. Our team of over 7,400 skilled and dedicated regular and non-regular employees proudly and safely serves suburban, rural and remote communities across Ontario through our 30,000 circuit km of high-voltage transmission and 123,000 circuit km of primary distribution networks. Hydro One is committed to the communities we serve, and has been rated as the top utility in Canada for its corporate citizenship, sustainability, and diversity initiatives. We are one of only five utility companies in Canada to achieve the Sustainable Energy Company designation from the Canadian Electricity Association. We also provide advanced broadband telecommunications services on a wholesale basis utilizing our extensive fibre optic network. Hydro One Limited's common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: H).
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SOURCE Hydro One Inc.
