Oshawa, Ontario – Oshawa Power has been a trusted partner in the community for more than 130 years and truly cares about this community and those who live here. Over the years Oshawa Power has regularly supported registered charity and non-profit organizations within the community with time (volunteering), in kind donations (helping to find solutions), and with donations (food, goods and dollars). The last two years have been particularly hard on many, but also highlighted how many people in our community have stepped up to go above and beyond to help others in need. This year we wanted to recognize some of those special people.
Oshawa Power put out the call for community members to nominate a “Local Hero” who went above and beyond to help others and make our community a special place. More than thirty nominations were received and reviewed by an impartial panel of judges. This panel of volunteer judges included: Mayor Dan Carter, Jason King, CEO Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, Craig Venn and Mike Luck, Morning Show Hosts 94.9 The Rock. These judges looked through all the nominations and made their picks, once all the judges submitted their choices, the top picks were notified, and a donation was presented to each charity at All or Nothing Brewhouse on December 14, 2021.
Four Local Heroes and representatives from their charities were able to join us for the presentations. Local Heroes Jill Boville, Dave Briggs, Gene Balson, and Caitlin Pye were presented with a Certificate of Recognition for the work that they do in our community and their charities, Simcoe Hall Settlement House, Salvation Army Family Services, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and Simcoe Hall Foodbank each received a donation of $1000 to support the work they do in the community.
“As a member of this community, Oshawa Power is committed to giving back to the community where we live and work. This year we thought it would be a good idea to involve Oshawa residents and provide them with the opportunity to recognize some special people in the community, while helping local charitable and nonprofit organizations. The response was terrific, with more than thirty heartwarming stories received. It was a pleasure to meet the Local Heroes that make our community great!”
– Ivano Labricciosa, President & CEO
This is the first time Oshawa Power has employed this strategy to their Charitable Giving, and their plan is to make it an annual event.
Oshawa, Ontario – Local dignitaries and leaders from within the business community are joining today to celebrate the launch of Durham Broadband, a new kind of high speed internet service that focuses on Durham’s economic development and is owned by Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation (a municipal corporation of the City of Oshawa).
Durham Broadband was established in 2002 under the banner Oshawa PUC Services and quickly became the Region’s largest fibre optic infrastructure supplier. The company’s re-launch and updated strategic vision come in recognition of the increasing need for high speed internet to support evolving business practices, innovation and smarter cities. Durham Broadband is being made available to the broader business sector to spur-on socio-economic outcomes across the Region and put its eight local communities at the forefront of Canada’s economic modernization.
To effectively support economic development, Durham Broadband has a mandate to target priority areas and offer highly competitive solutions including:
• Price match guarantees;
• Superior speeds to any other local supplier;
• Flexible service levels and packages;
• No contracts; and,
• A unique dual-homed network that creates 100% system redundancy.
The brand is also pursuing an aggressive 5 year, multi-million dollar expansion plan that will see underserved areas connected. It is projected that this initiative will bring government investment in broadband via shared grant applications at the federal and provincial levels. Securing such grants would mean that Durham Broadband and its collaborative partner, the Regional Municipality of Durham, would be able to stretch high speed internet farther, sooner and for less cost.
“Oshawa has a need for high-speed reliable internet solutions, and with our extensive network of dark fibre this was the logical next step,” stated Matt Strecker, VP of Engineering & Operations, and the Divisional Lead for Durham Broadband. “Local business told us they need better network coverage, reliability, redundancy and capacity, married with excellent customer service. By focusing our attention locally, and building the networks our Region demands, we can provide service that is unmatched,” continued Strecker.
For a limited time only, businesses wishing to sign-on will receive deep discounts and special signing bonuses. Businesses should visit www.durhambroadband.ca for more information today.
Oshawa, Ontario – EnerFORGE, a subsidiary of Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation, along with equity partner, Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative (OREC), have announced the acquisition of a portfolio of Ontario-based renewable energy assets. These assets, located in Bruce and Huron Counties, have been added to the growing EnerFORGE distributed energy operating platform and are an exciting investment for both partners as they continue to forge ahead with the future of renewable energy generation growth in Ontario.
“The partnership with OREC was a perfect match when the opportunity to acquire solar and wind generation assets presented itself. For Oshawa Power and EnerFORGE the acquisitions are in line with the company’s strategic growth objective of expanding its renewable energy asset portfolio. This acquisition will increase Oshawa Power’s installed solar capacity by about 30%, while diversifying the company’s generation portfolio with the addition of the first utility-scale wind asset to the portfolio,” stated Ivano Labricciosa, President and CEO of Oshawa Power Group of Companies.
“EnerFORGE is a leader in the Ontario renewable energy, cleantech, and energy transition space, and as a company we recognize it is not only core to our company’s strategy, but also that it is the right thing to do,” noted Scott Barker, Vice President, Business Development, EnerFORGE.
“OREC is excited to bring its co-operative ownership model to this wind turbine in partnership with EnerFORGE. Our co-operative is committed to welcoming members and investors from the surrounding communities and stay true to our principles of local ownership and continuing to diversify our growing renewable energy portfolio,” announced Graham Findlay, Vice President, OREC.
Fogler Rubinoff, The Redstone Company, and WSP Canada acted as EnerFORGE’s advisors on this transaction.
Media Contact:
Josh McCulloch
jmcculloch@opuc.on.ca
OSHAWA, ON – Oshawa Power has joined together with the Region of Durham, Elexicon Energy, Plug’n Drive, and a network of more than 20 local car dealerships to re-launch E-Mission and bring unprecedented access for drivers across the Durham Region to see and test drive electric vehicles (EVs)
Partially funded by a $50,000 grant from Natural Resources Canada, the program is designed to promote access and education around the EV transition. E-Mission allows local residents to book an EV test drive through Plug’N Drive’s Mobile EV Education Trailer (MEET) or participating local dealerships. Information and resources are available to help answer questions for those looking to make the transition to an EV through the E-Mission website and virtual showroom which features first-hand testimonials from EV advocates across Durham Region.
The program got under way Thursday, July 29th with a socially distanced event outside of Oshawa’s City Hall, the first of six local stops for Plug’n Drive’s MEET. Representatives from the program’s partners, members of the local media, and local politicians, including Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter, Regional Chair John Henry, and Whitby MP Ryan Turnbull, were invited to test drive electric vehicles and speak about Durham Region’s plans to promote the transition to electrified transportation.
(Video courtesy snapd Oshawa & Randy Nickerson)
“It’s amazing to see how the E-Mission program has grown since it’s inception in 2018, when Oshawa Power first showed up to Autofest, unsure how our message would be received, to a Durham Region-wide program with support from the national government and a diverse group of stakeholders,” said Oshawa Power’s Manager of Sustainability, Janet Taylor. “Now that we know our customers have a desire to learn about, and adopt EVs, we look forward to continuing to grow E-Mission into a brand that can help make EV adoption accessible to more residents of Durham Region.”
As of August 3rd, all available test drive slots at the MEET’s six stops have been booked, allowing more than 240 Durham Region residents to experience driving an EV. Stay tuned for updates as Oshawa Power works to open more test drive slots across the Durham Region. If you missed out on booking a test drive at one of the MEET locations, visit the E-Mission website to find a participating dealer near you and call to arrange a test drive.
This is to provide notice of the OPUC Annual General Meeting:
Online Virtual Meeting Format
June 18, 2021
2:00 p.m.
Please note:
Due to COVID-19 Government and Public Health Authority guidelines for physical distancing and gathering sizes we are unable to hold an in person meeting.
Log in credentials will be supplied prior to the meeting.
Late last night, May 26, 2021, Oshawa Power customers experienced a widespread power outage that affected more than 12,000 customers, or approximately 20% of our customer base. The outage was a result of a power supply interruption to Hydro One’s Thornton Transformer Station which supplies Oshawa Power. Scheduled Hydro One maintenance, in combination with an equipment failure outside of Oshawa Power’s service territory, knocked out the primary power supply to our substations in the affected areas. Impacts of the event spread from areas east in Northumberland County, through the Durham Region, and west into the City of Pickering.
On call crews were activated and ready to begin the restoration process within 20 minutes of the event. Our team worked diligently to reroute power supply to the affected areas within our territory through our designated secondary supply at two other local Hydro One Transformer Stations. Ultimately, all Oshawa Power customers had their power restored within 54 minutes.
“Hydro One scheduled maintenance combined with an unforeseen equipment failure outside of Oshawa Power territory knocked out the supply to our substations. Crews were dispatched and did a great job “switching” or rerouting power through other stations and transformers to restore as many customers as possible until Hydro One was able to fix equipment and restore power supply to the affected areas within the Oshawa Power grid,” said Ivano Labricciosa, President and CEO of Oshawa Power. “Our Emergency Preparedness team acted quickly to get the word out to customers and crews quickly responded with a contingency plan to quickly restore power. We thank our customers for their understanding and patience as we worked to safely restore power to everyone,” continued Labricciosa.
Oshawa Power has detailed plans and procedures in place to respond swiftly to all emergency events, including last night’s situation. Our goal in these situations is to safely restore service to all affected customers as soon as we possibly can.
We appreciate your patience as we worked to restore power to our customers and are dedicated to understanding, and learning from, all outages, small and large, so that we can continue to provide the highest quality service at the lowest possible rates.
Oshawa Power would like to extend our gratitude to our crews who worked to have service restored swiftly and safely, the Durham Regional Police Services who activated to ensure local motorists could remain safe on our local roadways, and the local media, including Colin Williamson, for helping keep our customers informed and up-to-date as the situation unfolded late into the evening.
The Ontario Energy Board’s (OEB) new electricity rates for households and small businesses took effect May 1, under the Regulated Price Plan (RPP).
Along with the switch to summer Time-of-Use (TOU) hours and Tier threshold, the OEB has announced both a decrease in rates and to the Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER) portion of your bill, from 21.2% to 18.9%.
On a typical residential bill for a customer using 700 kWh per month, these changes will translate to a small monthly savings. For TOU Pricing Plans, typical savings are approximately $0.58, while for Tiered Pricing Plans these savings are approximately $0.04.
Customers are still able to opt between TOU and Tiered Pricing Plans. Customers can learn more about their choices and how to change between plans here.
About Time-of-Use (TOU) rates
Under Time-of-Use (TOU) pricing, customers are charged according to the day of the week and time of day that they use electricity. This gives customers the option to shift higher electricity-use activities — such as laundry or running the dishwasher — to off-peak periods, which are charged at a lower rate.
There are three different TOU price periods: on-peak, mid-peak and off-peak.
TOU rates and price periods typically change twice a year (May 1 and November 1). Both the rates and price periods are set by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB).
May 1, 2021 Time of Use Rates:
On Peak – 17.0 ¢/kWh
Mid Peak – 11.3 ¢/kWh
Off – Peak – 8.2 ¢/kWh
Tiered pricing separates electricity consumption into two price tiers. Customers are charged one rate for electricity usage up to a certain amount of consumption (or threshold) per month, and a higher rate for electricity used above that amount.
The price threshold (the amount of electricity consumption that is charged at the lower price) is set by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) and will typically change twice a year for residential customers.
Note: Updated Tiered rates as of May 1, 2021.
Tiered rates pricing – per 30 days (residential customers)
Price tier
Description
Price
Tier 1
Up to 600 kWh/month
9.8 ¢/kWh
Tier 2
More than 600 kWh/month
11.5 ¢/kWh
Tiered rates pricing – per 30 days (non-residential customers)
Price tier
Description
Price
Tier 1
Up to 750 kWh/month
9.8 ¢/kWh
Tier 2
More than 750 kWh/month
11.5 ¢/kWh
Today, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) announced new electricity prices for households and small businesses, effective November 1, under the Regulated Price Plan (RPP).
The winter Time-of-Use (TOU) hours and the winter Tier threshold for residential customers, which were maintained for the summer 2020 period, will remain in effect until November 1.
The total bill for a typical residential customer who uses 700 kWh per month will increase by about $2.24 or 1.97%, after accounting for the bill relief provided by the Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER), a total (pre-tax) bill credit that appears at the bottom of electricity bills. The Ontario government has increased that rebate from 31.8% to 33.2% effective November 1, 2020.
The Ontario Energy Board is also introducing new Pricing Plan Choices for customers. Effective November 1, 2020 customers can now choose between paying Time of Use rates or Tiered Pricing rates.
Learn more about the new choices and how to change between plans here.
Under Time-of-Use (TOU) pricing, customers are charged according to the day of the week and time of day that they use electricity. This gives customers the option to shift higher electricity-use activities — such as laundry or running the dishwasher — to off-peak periods, which are charged at a lower rate.
There are three different TOU price periods: on-peak, mid-peak and off-peak.
TOU rates and price periods typically change twice a year (May 1 and November 1). Both the rates and price periods are set by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB).
November 1, 2020 Time of Use Rates:
On Peak – 21.7 ¢/kWh
Mid Peak – 15.0 ¢/kWh
Off – Peak – 10.5 ¢/kWh
Note: Currently, all TOU customers are paying the COVID-19 Recovery Rate of 12.8¢/kWh for all price periods. Please note that winter TOU rates will come into effect on November 1, 2020, and will be updated below once rates are announced by the OEB.
Tiered pricing separates electricity consumption into two price tiers. Customers are charged one rate for electricity usage up to a certain amount of consumption (or threshold) per month, and a higher rate for electricity used above that amount.
The price threshold (the amount of electricity consumption that is charged at the lower price) is set by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) and will typically change twice a year for residential customers.
Note: Updated Tiered rates as of November 1, 2020.
Tiered rates pricing – per 30 days (residential customers)
Price tier
Description
Price
Tier 1
Up to 1,000 kWh/month
12.6¢ per kWh
Tier 2
More than 1,000 kWh/month
14.6¢ per kWh
Tiered rates pricing – per 30 days (non-residential customers)
Price tier
Description
Price
Tier 1
Up to 750 kWh/month
12.6¢ per kWh
Tier 2
More than 750 kWh/month
14.6¢ per kWh
September 22, 2020 – We have received reports from small commercial customers that there are callers impersonating Hydro One calling Oshawa businesses and demanding payment by midnight and threatening disconnection.
Let us confirm that Hydro One does not operate in Oshawa and would not be calling our customers to demand payment. The phone number they are calling from is 1-800-581-4814.
Please do not engage with these callers and call Durham Regional Police to report at 905-579-1520.
If you have questions about your account please call our office at 905-723-4623 or email contactus@opuc.on.ca.
Oshawa PUC Networks Inc. has applied to the Ontario Energy Board to increase our electricity distribution rates. Please review the Ontario Energy Board’s Notice of Hearing to learn more and to find out how you can participate in the Ontario Energy Board’s hearing.
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Denise Carpenter, ICD.D, GCB.D
Chair, Board of Directors
Denise Carpenter is a highly accomplished Board Chair, Committee Chair, Director, and Executive Coach with extensive expertise in governance, strategy, risk management, acquisitions, and integrations. Denise is adept at leading transformational change initiatives and driving organizational growth in diverse industries including health, financial services, cybersecurity, utilities, and renewable energy and has been recognized for significant contributions in ESG, diversity & inclusion, and sustainability. As a BMO Honouree and member of the Diversity 50 Cohort, Denise is also active in Women Get on Board, the Institute of Corporate Directors, and the International Coach Federation.
Denise’s board experience is both deep and expansive. She has been instrumental in driving growth, ensuring regulatory compliance, and enhancing stakeholder relations in various industries, including electricity, mining, energy, renewable energy, healthcare, and digital health. She serves as the Independent Board Chair of Oshawa Power, Blue Cross of Canada, Chair for Ronald McDonald House Charities Toronto, and Director of the Ontario Medical Association and CashCo Financial Inc. Denise’s numerous board appointments mark her authority and expertise in governance and leadership.
Donna Kingelin
Member, Board of Directors
Donna Kingelin is a Senior Executive who has dedicated her career to serving the elderly. She has held the position of Chief Operating Officer of Revera where she provided oversight to 26,000 employees and over 200 seniors’ residences including long-term care homes, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living residences, independent retirement residences, and was accountable for the home care division. She also served as Managing Director for Holiday Corporation where she was responsible for the Canadian portfolio of independent retirement communities. In these roles, she provided leadership in human resources, operations, financial management, program development, capital investment, and quality improvement. Donna is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and currently holds board positions at Kinark Child and Family Services, Pallium Canada, Extendicare Inc. and Oshawa Power.
Terry Caputo, CPA, CA, C.Dir
Member, Board of Directors
Terry Caputo is an accomplished business executive with a diverse range of experience, including strategy, accounting, finance, debt issuance, infrastructure, information management, human resource matters, government relations, and governance. He has held roles in several not-for-profit and public sector entities, driving and implementing transformational change. Terry is a CPA, CA and holds his Chartered Director (C.Dir.) designation from The Directors College, which is a joint venture between the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University and The Conference Board of Canada.
Grant Buchanan
Member, Board of Directors
After graduating from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Science in Physics, Grant Buchanan had a career spanning over 30 years with S&C Electric Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of S&C Electric, an employee-owned company based in Chicago, Illinois. S&C Electric manufactures and provides services in the specialty of medium-voltage switching, control, and protection with manufacturing facilities in China, Brazil and Mexico, and an Engineering Services Centre in the UK.
In his tenure with S&C, Grant served in several Executive roles, including President of S&C Electric Canada and Executive Vice-President, International Business. In addition to his business experience, Grant has remained active in the industry serving on Boards and Committees for 30+ years, including appointments with S&C Electric, the Canadian Electricity Association, Electro Federation Canada, the Ontario Energy Network, METSCO Energy Solutions, and Oshawa Power.
Robert Watson
Member, Board of Directors
Robert Watson currently serves as Chairman of Bruce Telecom. He also serves as a board member for the Oshawa Power Group of Companies and NA Helium. Previously Robert held roles as Chief Executive Officer of the Information Technology Association, Chief Executive of the Bermuda Regulatory Authority, CEO of SaskPower, and CEO of SaskTel. Prior to that he held several senior executive positions in the Canadian communications industry. Robert is a graduate in Electrical Technologies from Toronto Metropolitan University. He has attended the International Executive Development Program at the INSEAD Centre in Fontainebleau, France, as well as the Executive Management Program at Ashridge Business School in the United Kingdom. He also holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
In the community, Robert is a recipient of the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal and the Ryerson Alumni Award of Distinction and has served as the Chairman of Prostate Cancer Canada, and Board Member for One Life Makes a Difference.
Dan Benoit
Member, Board of Directors
Dan Benoit is a corporate director and experienced financial professional. Throughout his 20-year finance career his focus has been on investment and project finance in the regulated utilities, renewable energy, and energy storage sectors. Since 2020, he has operated an independent consultancy serving global infrastructure firms seeking to raise debt capital. In this role, he is engaged by clients to devise and execute debt financing transactions for energy transition projects.
Barbara Boyd, CPA, CA, ICD.D
Member, Board of Directors
Barbara Boyd is an accomplished global finance executive with a breadth of experience in corporate strategy, enterprise risk management, and finance. She is a respected collaborative leader and champion of inclusion and diversity. Passionate about driving sustainable long-term growth, she brings 35+ years of senior leadership experience with CPG companies Diageo Plc, Pepsi Bottling Group, and KPMG. Barbara is a graduate of the University of Waterloo and recently completed the Directors Education Program at the University of Toronto – Rotman School of Management. She currently is an Independent Director and Chair of the Audit Committee for Steam Whistle Brewing and previously an Independent Director and Chair of the Audit and Governance committees of TSXV listed Lifeist Wellness Inc.
Neel Bungaroo, LLB, MBA
Member, Board of Directors
Neel has extensive experience in corporate, commercial and energy law. Having worked at global law firms, such as Allen & Overy and Mourant, Neel was involved in M&A and corporate financing transactions over US$3 billion. Neel’s expertise also extends to renewable energy. In his current role as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure LLC (GSI), Neel oversees the legal affairs and HR functions for the organization and has been involved in the development and operation of more than 300 MWs of renewable energy projects. Prior to his role at GSI, Neel served as General Counsel for the North American team of a publicly traded renewable energy company. Neel holds degrees in Economics and Law and an Executive MBA from Cornell University and Queen’s University.
John Mauti, CA, CPA
Member, Board of Directors
John Mauti is a CA and CPA professional with extensive experience in the utilities and electricity industry. John spent 30+ years with Ontario Power Generation helping steer the company to financial strength and prosperity through key transformations and evolutions, retiring as their CFO in 2022. He also currently serves on the board of Moltex Energy Canada, a company developing leading edge Small Modular Reactor technology in the nuclear energy generation field. John is an avid golfer and skier, happily married, and the father of 3 young men.
