OTTAWA, ON, June 25, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. presented its 2023 Annual Report, highlighting successes in enabling sustainable energy solutions for customers, preparing for and responding to extreme weather events, and maintaining a safe and reliable supply of electricity.

Board Chair, Bernie Ashe, and President and Chief Executive Officer, Bryce Conrad, presented the company's 2023 results during the Annual General Meeting today before Ottawa City Council. They also provided an update on the company's portfolio of locally-based clean energy project partnerships, ongoing efforts to boost grid resilience in the face of increasingly frequent severe weather events, and plans for investing in distribution system infrastructure over the coming years to support the city's growth and increased electrification of the economy.

Hydro Ottawa's core mandate remains unchanged: to provide a safe, reliable supply of electricity to approximately 364,000 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 2023 consolidated net income was $24.1 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 impacts of extreme weather events, Hydro Ottawa's maintained high levels of service reliability and achieved its second best-ever outage frequency result. On average, Hydro Ottawa customers had power 99.92 per cent of the time.
• As part of its focus on improving emergency preparedness and response, Hydro Ottawa introduced outage alert notifications to customers via text message and email, along with a new online outage map with enhanced functionality.
• Hydro Ottawa announced a partnership with The Ottawa Hospital to design and develop an energy-efficient central utility plant for its new Civic Campus. The plant will sustainably power the state-of-the-art facility and help minimize its carbon footprint.
• Portage Power, the company's renewable energy subsidiary, was awarded a 20-year contract for Renewable Energy Certificates from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, through the State's Renewable Energy Standard program.
• Envari, the company's energy and utility services business, continued to advance its signature carbon-reduction partnerships: supporting OC Transpo with transitioning to a zero-emission bus fleet and assisting the Ottawa International Airport Authority in reducing its energy consumption and environmental footprint.
• To help enable a smart and connected National Capital Region, Hydro Ottawa publicly launched its new telecommunications affiliate, Hiboo Networks, which will provide fiber optic network solutions to businesses and institutions in Ottawa and Gatineau.
• Hydro Ottawa achieved a 91 per cent overall customer satisfaction score and maintained the highest e-billing participation rate among Ontario distribution utilities (65 per cent).
• The journey towards becoming the first municipally-owned utility in Canada to achieve net-zero operations continued with the procurement of additional electric vehicles (EVs) for field crews, the installation of EV chargers at work centres, and the launch of environmental assessment and public consultation processes for the Piperville Municipal Transformer Station, which is being developed using low-carbon design and construction techniques.
• During an 84-day labour strike, Hydro Ottawa successfully executed its contingency plans for maintaining service to customers and mobilizing additional resources to assist with outage restoration.
• Hydro Ottawa's employee-driven charitable campaign raised more than $142,000 for United Way Eastern Ontario and $53,000 for the Royal Ottawa Prompt Care Clinic. In addition, sponsorships and donations totalling $102,000 were contributed through the Community Investment Program to local organizations supporting vulnerable groups and seeking to build stronger and healthier communities.

"In 2023, Hydro Ottawa once again demonstrated that we will deliver on our mission to provide safe, reliable electricity, no matter what challenges come our way. In the face of extreme weather events, significant economic pressures and a labour strike, the company pushed forward and never wavered in its commitment to being there for the residents and businesses who depend on us. I'm proud of how the team has emerged stronger, with our attention firmly fixed on the exciting opportunities ahead for adopting more sustainable ways of using energy."

-Bernie Ashe, Chair, Board of Directors

"More and more, overcoming adversity and adapting to change are key watchwords for Hydro Ottawa. Not only did we navigate a landscape of continuous challenges in 2023, we did so while pursuing new opportunities aimed at accelerating the transition to a more sustainable future. Building on the lessons and accomplishments of the past year, we're more focused than ever on being a trusted partner and solutions provider for our customers and community."

-Bryce Conrad, President and Chief Executive Officer

www.hydroottawa.com

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, energy solutions, telecommunications 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 four primary subsidiary companies: Hydro Ottawa Limited – a local distribution company that delivers electricity to more than 364,000 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); 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; and Hiboo Networks - a high-speed fiber optic network solutions and internet service company providing customers in the Ottawa-Gatineau region with secure and scalable connectivity to enable a strong digital future.

SOURCE Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc.