Report on Operations

COMMUNITY VALUE

To succeed, every company must deliver value to its shareholders and its customers. As a municipally-owned company, though, Hydro Ottawa’s commitment goes a step further. We want to deliver value to our community as a whole, acting at all times as an engaged and responsible corporate citizen in the community we serve.

We do this by providing a reliable and safe supply of electricity, increasing the supply of renewable energy and respecting the environment in our work, but our commitment also goes beyond our day-to-day operations. The Hydro Ottawa Group of Companies is active in our community promoting conservation and demand management, educating children and youth about electricity safety, helping to mitigate the impact of energy costs for those in need, and making other contributions to our City’s quality of life.

In 2006-2007, Hydro Ottawa Limited helped 85 households get through the cold winter months by assisting with their electricity bills through the Winter Warmth program. 286 individuals benefited from this assistance, including 162 children. Due to the more severe and prolonged winter weather experienced in 2007-2008, Hydro Ottawa Limited increased its support to the Winter Warmth Fund, assisting 149 households and 467 individuals to get through this especially difficult winter. In total, the company has contributed $105,000 to Winter Warmth over the past two years.

Hydro Ottawa’s annual United Way campaign raised a record $126,225 in 2007, with Hydro Ottawa’s contribution ranking number seven in the United Way/Centraide Ottawa business division. As part of the United Way campaign, Hydro Ottawa matches employee contributions dollar for dollar. In 2007, these corporate matching funds of over $58,000 helped to provide a nutritious morning meal to 8,200 students in 124 schools through the Ottawa School Breakfast Program.

The Hydro Ottawa Group of Companies is active in our community promoting conservation and demand management, educating children and youth about electricity safety, helping to mitigate the impact of energy costs for those in need, and making other contributions to our City’s quality of life.

More than 19,000 students in 45 area elementary schools learned valuable lessons about using electricity safely and wisely through Hydro Ottawa Limited’s Electricity Safety and Conservation presentations. Hydro Ottawa Limited was once again honoured to host the Special Needs Day at the Gloucester Fair, with 30 Hydro Ottawa volunteers helping 900 disabled children enjoy a day at the fair, complete with rides, games and a barbeque lunch. And we joined the Sens Foundation in supporting the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa’s Leading Through Adventure program, giving youth aged 14 to 17 the opportunity to learn about leadership, trust, teamwork and conflict resolution in a challenging outdoor environment.

Hydro Ottawa Limited also continued to play a leading role in creating a culture of conservation in our community. Over the past three years, Hydro Ottawa Limited’s conservation and demand management programs (not including programs led by the Ontario Power Authority), have resulted in 72.5 million kilowatt hours in savings – enough to power more than 8,355 homes for a year. In 2007, the Ontario Power Authority adapted Hydro Ottawa Limited’s innovative Fridge & Freezer Bounty program, which has retired over 8,000 older fridges and freezers to date in our community. The OPA has re-branded the program as the Great Refrigerator Round-Up and is offering it through local distribution companies across the province.
In 2007, Hydro Ottawa Limited launched the “Companies for Conservation” Program to recognize conservation efforts made by commercial customers. Conservation projects instituted by the first four award winners – Hudson’s Bay Company, The Royal Canadian Mint, The Ottawa Westin and Lansdowne Park – are expected to yield total energy cost and maintenance savings of more than $1.3 million, annually.

Energy Ottawa is actively engaged in the community building awareness of sustainable development and energy conservation. The company once again sponsored the annual Electrathon event, where teams of students design and build an electric vehicle to go as far as possible on energy stored in one set of batteries. In the process of building their vehicles, students learn more about a variety of subjects including engineering, welding, teamwork, sheet metal fabrication, automotive technology and environmental responsibility. Energy Ottawa also continues to be an active annual participant in the Alta Vista Reforestation Project, an environmental community building initiative launched in 2002 by City of Ottawa Councillor Peter Hume to help enhance the urban forest, beautifying the community and improving air quality. The company was also a sponsor of the annual Alzheimer Society Golf Tournament in Ottawa.

Hydro Ottawa took on a new cause in 2007, joining ranks with 33 other companies, agencies and community leaders to participate in the Employer Council of Champions of the Hire Immigrants Ottawa initiative, which is working to increase the number of skilled immigrants hired by Ottawa companies and organizations.