Author: Sudhanshu Rewari

OSHAWA – Oshawa Power’s electrical grid was hit early Friday evening due to the massive wind storm that passed through southern Ontario.  Overall there were 23,161 customers that experienced a power outage at some point during Friday evening.

Our first outage was reported at 5:40pm and Oshawa Power invoked their Emergency Preparedness Plan as outages were reported.  All crews were available to begin the assessment and restoration process.  Our communications were up and running and active throughout the outage.  Real-time updates were shared through our social media channels, website outage map and through a media release.

Once the wind subsided and it was safe, crews began restoring service.  Service restoration began at 8:00pm using a staggered approach throughout the city.  By 2:25am Saturday morning all customers were fully restored.  Oshawa Power continues to work on repairing damaged equipment caused by the storm.

Oshawa Power would like to thank our customers for their patience and support while we worked to restore power as quickly as possible.

Now that the storm has subsided we are advising customers to please take a moment and inspect their property for potential damage and hazards.   The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) is advising Ontarians in areas most affected by the wind of the last two days to take a moment and check for damage to their home or property’s electrical system.  Even if power has been restored or never went out, you may have electrical pipes/masts pulled away from the building or sagging electrical wires.  These could be shock or fire hazards and should be repaired.

If you identify a hazard on your property contact a Licensed Electrical Contractor to check it and make the necessary repairs.  Click here to learn more.

If you identify a potential tree hazard that needs to be addressed please contact us using our message form and provide us the details and we will send a crew out to address this issue.

As a reminder whenever there is a power outage you can check our Outage Map or check our social media feeds Facebook and Twitter @oshawapower for updates.

Media Contact
Sheila Risorto
Marketing and Communications Analyst
srisorto@opuc.on.ca
905-723-4626 ext 5243
905-439-1930

Are you currently overdue on your Hydro Bill?

OSHAWA – Starting May 1, 2018 the Ontario Energy Board’s ban on collection disconnects during winter months ends.  Unfortunately some customers have used the winter disconnection ban as an opportunity to not pay their bills because they were not in danger of losing service.   As a result of the ban, we have seen customer account balances accumulate. Many customers may now have a difficult time paying their balance back to the utility.

The impact of the winter disconnection ban significantly increases the number of accounts in a position where they can be facing service disconnection and the cost of collection activity.  It also decreases the recoverability of balances.  Oshawa Power works extremely hard to mitigate losses so we can keep our rates low. The impact of receiving late payments or no payments lead to increased rates for the ratepayers and/or delayed infrastructure upgrades which is why we would prefer to work with you to achieve a solution that works for both of us.

We want to work with our customers to avoid disconnection, Oshawa Power offers many programs and repayment plans to assist families and are encouraging customers to reach out to us if they need help.

Here at Oshawa Power we are not in the business to disconnect service.  The disconnection process is costly and we like to avoid it as much as possible.   We work closely with numerous social agencies in the Durham Region and the city of Oshawa to offer assistance and ease the burden of paying utility bills for low income individuals and families. We want to help our customers keep their service, and help to keep their accounts current. If you are having trouble keeping up with your bill please call us before you get your final notice.  We would like to help as many people as possible avoid disconnection.  If we can help people before it comes to the point of disconnection it’s a win-win.

Please call Customer Service at 905-723-4623 Monday to Friday 8:30am- 4:30pm to discuss your options.

OSHAWA, ON April 16, 2018 – Oshawa Power is pleased to report that small areas affected by this weekend’s ice storm have been fully restored and Oshawa is 100% powered.

Oshawa Power was monitoring this storm very closely and our field crews and emergency team were on high alert and prepared to respond when needed.  At any given time we had no more than 300 customers without power.

Our crews were dispatched on Saturday to address multiple non-service affecting motor vehicle accidents to repair equipment and about 10 service affecting outages on Sunday.  The outages were primarily caused by tree contacts and accumulated ice buildup.  Our crews worked tirelessly throughout Sunday night clearing the lines to get the power restored as soon as possible to minimize inconvenience for our customers.

Now that the storm has subsided we are advising customers to please take a moment and inspect their property for potential damage and hazards.   The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) is also advising Ontarians in areas most affected by the ice and wind of the last two days to take a moment and check for damage to their home or property’s electrical system.  Even if power has been restored or never went out, you may have electrical pipes/masts pulled away from the building, sagging electrical wires, or water and ice damage.  These could be shock or fire hazards and should be repaired.

If you identify a hazard on your property contact a Licensed Electrical Contractor to check it and make the necessary repairs.  Learn more here.

If you identify a potential tree hazard that needs to be addressed please contact us using our Message form and provide us the details and we will send a crew out to address this issue.

As a reminder whenever there is a power outage you can check our Outage Map or check our social media feeds Facebook and Twitter for updates.

We would like to thank our customers for their support and patience while our crews worked to restore the power safely.

Oshawa Power advises that all power is restored PDF

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Media Inquiries:
Sheila Risorto
Marketing and Communications Analyst
905-723-4626 ext 5243
905-439-1930
srisorto@opuc.on.ca

Oshawa – Environment Canada is warning that an ice storm is likely this weekend in the Oshawa area.  Freezing rain is expected Saturday afternoon and continue into Saturday evening.  Freezing rain may become mixed with or turn over to ice pellets at times, with some areas receiving a few centimetres of the ice pellet mess.

It is expected that it will persist into Sunday.  Ice buildup of 10 to 20 mm appears quite likely across the region by Sunday morning. Ice accretion may be considerably less in areas very close to Lake Ontario as temperatures there may actually remain very close to the freezing mark.

Ice accumulations of this magnitude combined with gusty northeast winds to 60 km/h may result in widespread power outages due to fallen tree limbs and power lines.

Downed powerlines may be energized and are dangerous. If powerlines are down, stay at least 10 metres away (the length of a school bus), and call 911 immediately. To report outages, Oshawa Power customers should call 905-723-4623.

Oshawa Power will continue to monitor this storm.  Our field crews and emergency team are on high alert and prepared to respond.

Oshawa Power is also proactively coordinating with the Electrical Safety Authority to streamline the repair process for customers who may incur damage to their meter mast as a result of the storm. If a customer’s electrical equipment is damaged, customers need a Licensed Electrical Contractor to make repairs before Oshawa Power can safely restore power.  Learn more here

If you experience an outage you can follow our updates on Twitter  or Facebook @oshawapower or monitor our outage map at www.oshawapower.ca/outages .

Oshawa Power is encouraging customers to be prepared for power outages before the power goes out. Emergency Management Ontario and local emergency responders recommend that residents prepare and plan to be self-sufficient for 72 hours in an emergency situation.

• Please make sure that you have flashlights and batteries available.
• Do not use charcoal or a gas barbecue, camping heating equipment or portage generators indoors as they produce deadly carbon monoxide gas.
• Before you leave home, please do walkthrough of your home just as you would when going on vacation and make sure all appliances are turned off such as stoves, ovens, coffeemakers, etc.

Stay safe and informed.

About Oshawa Power:

Oshawa Power provides safe, reliable and efficient electricity distribution services to over 58,000 customers in the City of Oshawa.  Oshawa Power is part of the Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation family of companies.

Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation is the holding company for a diversified group of four subsidiaries involved in energy distribution, telecom ventures, clean power generation and solar energy generation.  Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation is wholly owned by the Corporation of The City of Oshawa.

Media Inquiries:
Sheila Risorto
Marketing and Communications
Oshawa Power
w‐905‐723‐4626 ext 5243
c‐905‐439‐1930
srisorto@opuc.on.ca

 

‘Dig Safe Month’, a provincial-wide initiative, that began on Sunday, April 1.

The campaign aims to promote safety and reduce damages to underground infrastructure by raising awareness of safe digging practices, which includes calling ‘Ontario One Call’ before beginning a project that involves breaking ground.

Planning an outdoor project?

Call before you dig.

Are you planning on doing any work that involves digging such as installing a pool, building a fence or planting a tree? As a homeowner, contractor, or developer, it is your responsibility to ensure that any outside projects are carried out safely.  It is important that you get utility locates before you start your project to avoid damaging any underground infrastructure.

Underground networks of services including power lines might be buried on your property. Accidentally hitting one can cause injury, property damage and inconvenient outages.  To make your project safe:

1. Call 1-800-400-2255 or visit Ontario One Call before digging
2. Wait for an Oshawa Power cable locator to arrive and mark the area
3. Respect the marks; avoid digging within one metre of marked ground
4. Dig with care

Please allow for five business days for your locates to be complete before you plan to dig.

It’s the Law.

Having utilities located before you dig is required by law under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (see Construction Projects 228).

For additional important information, visit the Ontario One Call website.

On behalf of Oshawa Power we would like to extend our thanks to the community for their patience this week as the wind storm passed through the city of Oshawa. Although we did have some small isolated power outages, restoration was quick, and our problems were minor. Prevention programs and updating infrastructure is key to our reliability.

Oshawa Power takes reliability very seriously, and is constantly looking for improvements. Our team considers Oshawa’s projected growth and existing infrastructure and makes the plan to replace or rebuild system components before it causes problems for our community. The extensive maintenance programs put in place by Oshawa Power have also resulted in an overall increased reliability. These programs include:  ongoing tree trimming, pole testing, annual switch maintenance, annual infrared scanning, cable replacement, annual oil testing and relay and breaker testing to minimize external issues, as well as daily observations while crews are working. In addition to these preventative measures, our Emergency Preparedness Plan deals with mobilizing and dispatching crews and resources to respond quickly and efficiently when a problem arises.

Our everyday job is to ensure Oshawa has safe, reliable power, communicate with our ratepayers and do it as cost efficiently as possible.  It is storms like this week that challenge our efforts and we are happy to report that we continued to deliver the same service that Oshawa ratepayers have come to rely on.

 

Ivano Labricciosa

President and CEO

Oshawa Power

Oshawa Power Earth Hour Results – 2018

Around the world Earth Hour symbolizes international unity on the importance of addressing climate change.  In Oshawa, electricity users went dark to observe Earth Hour over the weekend.

This year Oshawa Power recognized a drop in electricity consumption of 0.6% or 835.4kW.  Oshawa has always been a leading community in energy conservation initiatives and continues to look for opportunities to increase their commitment to climate change awareness.  Oshawa’s electricity users work hard every year to reduce their electricity consumption.  In the last 3 years Oshawa has saved over 45 GWh of electricity through reduction and conservation programs, our users have adopted Earth Hour habits for everyday living.

The amount of electricity saved during this year’s Earth Hour is equivalent to the CO₂  emissions of 2,451 kms driven and the amount of the CO₂ sequestered by planting 160 new trees in Oshawa.

Please be advised that the billing delay has been remedied and the regular billing schedule has been restored.  We appreciate your patience in this matter.

Some customers affected by billing delay

Please be advised, electricity invoices for customers who normally receive their monthly bills between the 16th and 31st will be delayed for January.  We fully expect to have the situation remedied very soon and all January bills are expected to be delivered no later than February 8th.  Affected customers will receive invoices for only the delayed billing period however, due to the delay, some of those customers may receive two invoices in the month of February. Overdue service charges will be waived and there will be no interruption of service resulting for a period of time to accommodate the billing delays. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience.