OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 25, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. presented its 2022 Annual Report, showcasing the company's strong performance in a year which featured the most devastating storm in Ottawa's history and which tested the company's resilience like never before.
Board Chair, Jim Durrell, C.M., ICD.D, and President and Chief Executive Officer, Bryce Conrad, presented the company's 2022 results during the Annual General Meeting today before Ottawa City Council. They also provided an update on the company's ongoing work to enhance its emergency preparedness and response capabilities in the face of increasingly frequent and intense severe weather events, as well as on the recent labour disruption at the company.
Today's meeting also marked the conclusion of Mr. Durrell's tenure as Chair of the Board of Directors for Hydro Ottawa. During his 10 years as Chair, Mr. Durrell helped oversee the largest investment in the reliability and expansion of the local distribution grid in Hydro Ottawa's history, as well as significant growth and diversification across the company's business lines. Bernie Ashe, a well-known and respected local business leader and community builder, is set to assume the Board chairmanship for a four-year term.
Hydro Ottawa's core mandate remains unchanged: to provide a safe, reliable and affordable supply of electricity to approximately 359,000 residential and commercial customers that rely upon the company every day; and to ensure a more sustainable energy future for its community.
- Hydro Ottawa's 2022 consolidated net income was $39.7 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 May 2022 Derecho storm and a major winter storm in December, Hydro Ottawa's service reliability remained best-in-class among its peers in Ontario. On average, Hydro Ottawa customers had power 99.55 per cent of the time.
- The centerpiece of Hydro Ottawa's corporate strategy is a commitment to achieving net-zero operations by 2030, a first for any municipally-owned utility in Canada. In 2022, the company reached a key milestone in this journey, with the certification of its main office and two operational facilities to LEED Gold status, a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement for green buildings.
- Portage Power, Hydro Ottawa's renewable energy subsidiary, further strengthened its position as the largest municipally-owned producer of green power in Ontario through the acquisition of two run-of-the-river generating stations located on the Mississippi River just west of Ottawa. This increased its total generation capacity to 131 MW.
- Hydro Ottawa powered up its newest and largest substation (Cambrian Municipal Transformer Station), delivering the project on time and within budget. Located next to the station on unused land is one of the largest pollinator meadows in Eastern Ontario, developed in partnership with the City of Ottawa, Rideau Valley Conservation Authority and the Canadian Wildlife Federation.
- Envari, the company's energy and utility services business, had its strongest financial year on record. This was driven by partnerships on signature clean energy projects, such as zero-emission buses with the City of Ottawa and decarbonization opportunities with the Ottawa International Airport Authority, as well as the expanding range of value-added services which Envari offers to commercial, institutional, municipal and utility clients.
- To help enable a smart and connected National Capital Region, Hydro Ottawa launched a new subsidiary, Hiboo Networks. Hiboo will provide fiber optic network solutions to businesses and institutions across Ottawa and Gatineau.
- Hydro Ottawa achieved a 93 per cent overall customer satisfaction score, continuing the recent trend of high customer satisfaction. The company also maintained the highest e-billing participation rate among Ontario distribution utilities (62 per cent).
- According to data published by the Ontario Energy Board, Hydro Ottawa had the lowest operating costs per customer among large distribution utilities in Ontario.
- Hydro Ottawa's employee-driven charitable campaign raised more than $166,000 for the United Way of Eastern Ontario. In addition, $149,000 was raised for the Ottawa Food Bank, and the company was pleased to resume employee volunteering at community events such as Special Needs Day at the Capital Fair and the Help Santa Toy Parade.
"As the events of 2022 demonstrated, the foundation of Hydro Ottawa's business is our commitment to earning public trust by meeting the need for safe, reliable and affordable service, no matter what challenges come our way. Over the last 10 years, it's been my great honour to have collaborated with the company's management, employees and stakeholders in building upon this foundation by achieving best-in-class reliability, delivering value for our municipal shareholder and championing the transition to more sustainable energy solutions for our community. I'm proud of Hydro Ottawa's incredible track record and I'm confident that this legacy will continue to flourish under Bernie and Bryce's leadership."
- Jim Durrell, C.M., ICD.D, Chair, Board of Directors
"The lessons of 2022 have sharpened our focus on emergency preparedness and response, and adapting our operations and infrastructure. Together with our ongoing investments in clean energy and carbon reduction initiatives, these actions will advance the shift to a smarter energy future. In addition, I want to express my sincere thanks to Jim Durrell for the dedicated years of service and commitment to performance excellence which he brought to our Board. I also want to welcome our incoming Chair, Bernie Ashe, to the Hydro Ottawa family. I look forward to working with him in writing the next chapter in our story of sustainably powering the community which we are fortunate to serve."
- Bryce Conrad, President and Chief Executive Officer
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, and energy 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 three primary subsidiary companies: Hydro Ottawa Limited – a local distribution company that delivers electricity to more than 359,000 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); and 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.
SOURCE Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc.
Media contact: Josée Larocque, Manager, Media and Public Affairs, Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc., [email protected], www.hydroottawa.com
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