March 18, 2009 -- Burlington Hydro’s innovative use of technology to virtually eliminate power outages in a ‘critical load zone’ that includes Joseph Brant Hospital has earned the utility the distinctive 2008 Innovation Award for Customer Service from the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA).
Burlington Hydro was presented with the award at last week’s EDA Annual General Meeting based on the utility’s deployment of a switching automation system that has resulted in numerous efficiency gains and an overall reduction in power outages in Burlington by 40 percent.
This marks the second time that the technology has been acknowledged with an award by Burlington Hydro’s peers. The initiative was also named Electrical Engineering Project of the Year in 2007 by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.
Charlie Macaluso, President and CEO of the Electricity Distributors Association, said, “Burlington Hydro’s achievement is an excellent example of putting technology to work for the betterment of the community at large. They’ve used emerging technologies cost effectively to improve customer service responsiveness and reliability, yet with a clear focus on future requirements.”
The system is viewed as a key building block towards the GridSmartCity™ a new Burlington Hydro initiative to transform today’s electricity system into the smart grid of tomorrow.
GridSmartCity™ will use sensors and monitors in combination with advanced communications and computer analytics to improve the ability to incorporate renewable generation from the sun and wind. It will also be a key enabler of new technologies such as electric vehicles.
Burlington Hydro has now installed 55 Scadamate switches throughout Burlington which, together with advanced software and telecommunications systems, has improved monitoring, operational effectiveness and service response times to the benefit of all citizens.
The most advanced deployment of automation by Burlington Hydro is in the downtown core where the system detects faults and restores power without human intervention. Outages that in past that would take one to two hours to find and fix, now are largely restored in seconds. The protected area includes vital community infrastructure and services such as Joseph Brant Hospital, water and wastewater treatment facilities, the Canadian Coast Guard and other mission critical services.
Winning this prestigious EDA innovation award acknowledges a tremendous organization-wide effort. Burlington Hydro customers are the ultimate winners, and this is only the beginning of the scope and benefits of automation that can be realized.
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Burlington Hydro Inc., established in 1945 as the Burlington Public Utilities Commission, is an energy services based company in the power distribution business. The company serves over 61,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers. Burlington Hydro Inc. is committed to engineering and service delivery excellence. The utility is ranked number 1 in Ontario for operational efficiency.
The Electricity Distributors Association (EDA) is the voice of Ontario’s local electricity distributors, the publicly and privately owned companies that safely and reliably deliver electricity to Ontario homes, businesses and public institutions.
For more information, please contact:
Jennifer Smith
Director, Corporate Relations
Burlington Hydro Inc.
jsmith@burlingtonhydro.com
905-332-2340
Gary Holloway
Manager, Corporate Communications
Burlington Hydro Inc.
gholloway@burlingtonhydro.com
905-638-4226
