Hydro Ottawa asks customers for feedback on five-year plan

OTTAWA, ONTARIO – - OTTAWA, ONTARIO – Hydro Ottawa has launched a website and online survey to seek input from its customers on a five-year distribution plan that will help determine the companyÂ’s priorities and rates between 2016 and 2020.

The customer consultation is designed to collect consumer feedback on the reliability of OttawaÂ’s electricity distribution system and the spending decisions Hydro Ottawa will make over the next five years.

The plan highlights major issues the utility is looking to address, including:

- Replacing aging infrastructure past the anticipated end-of-life, with some more than 50 years old

- Serving a growing city and population, including building infrastructure needed to serve new communities, intensification projects and the Light Rail Transit project

- Improving the power system with targeted investments that will restore outages more quickly and/or remotely and

- Refurbishing and replacing costly facilities and equipment.

All feedback collected will be included with the utilityÂ’s application to its regulator, the Ontario Energy Board, as part of the rate setting process. Focus groups and telephone surveys are also being conducted.

To learn more about Hydro OttawaÂ’s five-year plan and to complete the online survey, please visit hydroottawa.com/survey.

Quick Facts

- Hydro Ottawa bills customers and collects payments, but only keeps about 20 percent of what the customer pays. The other 80 percent is passed on, without mark-up, to other companies responsible for generating electricity, transmitting it, and to regulators and the provincial government.

- Hydro OttawaÂ’s distribution rates must be approved by the Ontario Energy Board based on applications by the utility. The rate setting process is open and transparent, with opportunities for public participation. - Hydro Ottawa must submit evidence to demonstrate the amount of funding it needs to safely and reliably distribute electricity to its customers.