Toronto Hydro responds to 2013 Ice Storm panel report

Toronto Hydro Ice Storm Report details independent panel recommendations, benchmarking against industry best practices, and lessons for grid emergency response, resilience, and storm recovery planning, with transparency and customer service improvements highlighted.

Utility is pleased with the findings and recommendations from the independent review panel's report on the 2013 ice storm

The final report and recommendations from the independent panel are now available on Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited's website at torontohydro.com/newsroom. The panel was appointed earlier this year to review the efforts by Toronto Hydro in response to the December 2013 ice storm. Anthony Haines, President and CEO, thanked the panel members and all the participants in the process at a recent press conference.

"We're pleased with the review panel findings. It's an unbiased report of our response to the ice storm. The recommendations made by the panel provide some great insight on how we can improve our response when another grid emergency occurs, such as a faulty sprinklers blackout impacting critical facilities. The findings indicate we did well in many areas, but like all first time experiences, we stressed our people, systems, and processes – we now know where we can improve," said Haines.

The panel, consisting of the Chair, David McFadden, Joe Pennachetti, Sean Conway and Carlos Torres, as well as Davies Consulting, presented their findings at a separate news conference earlier in the day. The presentation is also available now at torontohydro.com/newsroom. Davies Consulting is a well recognized consulting firm that facilitated the process as well as compared Toronto Hydro's efforts to the industry's best and leading practices, such as the PowerStream performance review that followed the 2013 ice storm.

Toronto Hydro Corporation Chair, David Williams, adds, "The panel has done a thorough analysis and has provided valuable learnings that can be applied to the next emergency. I'm confident that this report will serve as a valuable tool to help better serve our customers in future emergency situations."

Industry coverage has noted many challenges ahead for Toronto Hydro's CEO as the recommendations are implemented.

Toronto Hydro-Electric System owns and operates an electricity distribution system connected to Hydro One's transmission service across Toronto, which delivers electricity to approximately 733,000 customers located in the city of Toronto. It is the largest municipal electricity distribution company in Canada and distributes approximately 18 percent of the electricity consumed in the province of Ontario.

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