Author: Sudhanshu Rewari

Oshawa Power is proud to be this year’s winner of Hexagon SI’s 2018 Safety and Infrastructure’s Innovation Award for our Outage Management system.

Oshawa Power’s Outage Management System connects existing utility technology AMI, SCADA, CIS and GIS to identify outages, predict outages,  and communicate outages.  With the focus on improving reliability, reducing outage times and improving customer communications our team along with Hexagon’s collaborated together to provide the customers of Oshawa with better service and reliability.  Part of this project is deploying Intelligent Switches, sectionalizing areas with defective equipment and restoring as many customers in many cases before 1 minute.  Oshawa Power uses real data from AMI meter outage messages (outage/restore) timestamps as our benchmark for when the outage starts and ends.

This is a significant achievement, crew response time improved, dramatic increases in our reliability, notification from our OMS was accurate, and communicating the outages to our outage map, IVR system and social media was seamless all as a result of good engineering and system network analysis.

In 2017 we sent out approximately 250 tweets with power outage details and our social media audience grew 27% and 18% for Facebook and Twitter respectively as a result of informative outage notification posts.   The predictive dialer called 42,000 customers in 2017 to inform them of power outages in their area.

Historically only 5%-10% of total outages would be planned.  Planned outages are mainly to perform infrastructure maintenance and preventative upgrades to avoid any unplanned outages.  Planned outages are preferred as the utility can plan their resources in a more efficient manner and the outage duration is kept to a minimum.  Unplanned outages are time consuming as crews with the assistance of Operations have to patrol first to identify location and cause of the outage before being able to repair.  In 2017 with the OMS fully functional we reported to have 61% planned outages and with the accuracy of the system unplanned outage duration was drastically reduced with the elimination of patrolling since the system can direct the crews to the device causing the outage.

These achievements were not done by investing in new technology platforms but by utilizing existing platforms and resources available and make them work for us to improve service and reliability for the customers of Oshawa.   Currently we are the only utility that automatically dispatches crews based on the OMS without the involvement of an operator.  This allows us to deliver more to our customers for the same cost. Oshawa Power is proud to be leading the industry with forward-thinking, customer-focused approaches!

About Hexagon
Hexagon is a leading global provider of information technologies that drive productivity and quality across geospatial and industrial enterprise applications.  Hexagon’s solutions integrate sensors, software, domain knowledge and customer workflows into intelligent information ecosystems that deliver actionable information. They are used in a broad range of vital industries.

 

Weigh in on Oshawa’s Smart Cities Challenge for a chance to win an iPad!

The development of the City of Oshawa’s Smart Cities Challenge bid is underway and needs your insight!

Complete the survey for the chance to win an iPad!

We’re looking to you to help identify community needs and how Oshawa can harness digital technology and data to improve livability.

Complete the survey before 4:30 p.m. eastern time on February 2, 2018 for your chance to win a 32 Gb iPad (must be 18 years of age or older).

Complete the survey now! *

Open House – February 1

You’re invited to an Open House to learn more about the Smart Cities Challenge and share your ideas about community needs and possible projects.

  • Date: Thursday, February 1
  • Time: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (presentation at 7:15 p.m.)
  • Location: C-Wing Committee Room at City Hall (50 Centre St. S.).

Can’t make it but want to have your say?

Share your feedback online on Connect Oshawa or on paper (available at Service Oshawa and all OSCC branches) by Friday, February 2 at 4:30 p.m. EST.

* Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Only 1 entry per person. One prize of a 32 Gb iPad with WiFi capabilities (silver) will be awarded by random draw. No purchase necessary. Visit www.oshawa.ca/scc for full prizing details and conditions.

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.

Oshawa area Text Message Smishing scam

Oshawa Power has received reports in our Customer Service department that some local customers have received fraudulent text messages claiming to be sent by Oshawa Power.  These text messages claim there is a refund for you and instruct you to click on a link to provide personal information.  Oshawa Power does not send out refunds using text message or email communication.  Oshawa Power also does not solicit for private information over these channels.  If you have any question please do not hesitate to contact us at 905-723-4623 or email us at contact us .

Phishing

This is a type of identity theft where criminals use email to try to bait you into fake or hoax websites. Once there, you are asked to disclose confidential financial and personal information, like passwords, credit card numbers, access codes or Social Insurance Numbers.

Emails tend to look authentic, featuring corporate logos and layouts similar to the ones used by institutions for legitimate communication. Because these emails can look so official, unsuspecting recipients may reply to them, resulting in financial losses, identity theft and other fraudulent activity.

Smishing

Scam artists have also found a way to send fraudulent messages to mobile phones. Smishing is similar to phishing, except that it is received via text message or SMS (Short Message Service).

Keep in mind all the points mentioned above when speaking about phishing. The intention behind text message phishing is the same as regular email phishing and the content and tone of the message is very similar.

Vishing

The term comes from “voice” and “phishing”. Vishing uses telephone communications in combination with email or the Internet to steal information and money from unsuspecting consumers. There are a few different methods con artists use. Typically you are contacted by either a recorded phone message or by email and directed to call a phone number or go to a website to enter personal information.

Always remember that Oshawa Power will never send you unsolicited emails or SMS messages asking for confidential information, such as your passwords, credit card and account numbers or personal identification numbers.

Join us for a free screening of Academy Award winning documentary film maker Charles Ferguson’s film – Time to Choose. See full details below:

Date: Thursday, October 19, 2017

Location: The Regent Theatre, 50 King Street East, Oshawa

Web: www.timetochoose.com

Program:

  • 6:30 p.m. Doors open, meet and greet, and light refreshments
  • 7:00 p.m. Presentation and movie
  • Free admission – donations of non-perishable food items are appreciated
  • Cash bar and door prizes

Green Energy Doors Open (GEDO) is an energy literacy communications campaign and annual showcase of individual, community, and commercial sustainable energy projects. It is organized and spearheaded by the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association. The initiative aims to showcase advancements in the sector, demonstrating that Ontario is already on the path to building a 100% clean, sustainable energy system.

The GEDO annual showcase weekend celebrates sustainable energy projects and success stories in provinces across Canada. Every year in early autumn, businesses, organizations, community cooperatives, indigenous communities, municipalities and homeowners open their doors and host events to promote the sustainable energy initiatives and technologies in their communities. GEDO is free to participate in as a host and to attend, and aims to raise awareness, support, education and enthusiasm around sustainable energy in Canada.

Oshawa Power is participating in this year’s Green Energy Doors Open this Friday.  We will be offering tours and information sessions at 2 separate locations, 2000 Simcoe St N, Oshawa and 1282 Meath Dr, Oshawa.  See the links below:

Solar Battery Energy Management – 1282 Meath Dr, Oshawa

Combined Heat and Power Plant at Oshawa Microgrid – 2000 Simcoe St N, Oshawa

The lights were turned on for the first time in Oshawa September 12, 1887.  Use of electricity in Oshawa began when some enterprising citizens, E.S. Edmondson, J.L. Guy, and K.L. Murton created an arc lighting system for the little town and formed Oshawa Electric Light Company. Although they were met with a lack of local support for their endeavor they persevered to bring electricity to the small town of Oshawa.  Over the last 130 years there have been many changes and challenges for Oshawa Power.  It has been a fascinating and exciting evolution from just providing electricity to also providing water, transit, dark fibre and renewable energy to the residents of Oshawa.

Oshawa Power has always been on the forefront of change and continues to strive for industry “firsts”, all the while being community minded and a good citizen. We are proud of our heritage and legacy which explains a great deal of who we are – low rates, innovative, flexible and customer focussed.  We remain committed to our legacy that puts our customers first in everything we do, and will continue to keep in step with the energy needs of this dynamic community. Now 130 years later Oshawa Power is still locally owned and has had a long history of bringing Oshawa forward and it continues to make its mark in the industry as being a leader of innovation, a leader in customer service and satisfaction, a leader in renewable energy solutions and a financially responsible asset for our shareholder.  We look forward to a future where we will expand our role and continue to be a positive force in our community.

To look through some of our archives and learn more about Oshawa Power’s history please visit www.oshawapower.ca/timeline/

As we watched the destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Oshawa Power employees took action and began to fundraise to contribute to the Harvey relief fund.  With Hurricane Irma close on Harvey’s heels set to cause even more damage, the call for help was received from the Florida utilities to help with the recovery effort and Oshawa Power immediately mobilized and sent the team.

Oshawa Power has joined with other Ontario partners and supplied three journeyman power lineman to aid in the power restoration effort in Florida.  Our team crossed the border Friday evening and has made their way already into the heart of the worst area surrounding Miami.  As we await to be joined by our Canadian colleagues early reports from our team are the devastation is very severe and the power restoration will take a considerable amount of time.  We are proud of our workers for volunteering to be away from their families to help the people and businesses of Florida recover from this devastation.

Hurricane Irma recently made landfall in the U.S. state of Florida as a major hurricane; it was the most intense Atlantic hurricane observed in over a decade. It was also the most intense hurricane to strike the United States since Katrina in 2005, and the first major hurricane to hit the state of Florida since Wilma in 2005.  Irma flooded streets, spawned tornadoes, knocked out power to millions of people across the state and snapped massive construction cranes over the Miami skyline.

Nearly 7.2 million homes and businesses were without power in multiple states.  The vast majority were in Florida. The state’s emergency management officials said the storm cut power to more than 6.5 million account holders across the state as of Monday afternoon.

As reported to CBS News Eric Silagy, the CEO of Florida Power & Light, said Irma caused the most widespread damage in the company’s history. It affected all 35 counties in the utility’s territory which is most of the state’s Atlantic coast and the Gulf coast south of Tampa. The most extensive damage was likely in the Naples area, but a full assessment was ongoing. He said 19,500 electric workers have been deployed in the restoration effort.

Oshawa Power is proud to answer the call and send its very best to those in need in Florida and be a part of representing Canada in this effort.  While we await the safe return of our colleagues we will continue to post regular updates of their progress.  We wish them well and ask them to be safe.

To follow our team’s progress please check our website www.oshawapower.ca, or follow us on Twitter or Facebook

Oshawa residents will soon have the opportunity to choose different programs and billing options for their electricity after the Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation was chosen to be part of a new pilot project from the Ontario Energy Board.

The OPUC, along with providers in Barrie, York Region and London, representing approximately 18,000 customers, will have new options for tailoring hydro billing programs to customers. The new program are likened to the “pick and pay” options now available for some television cable packages.

“We’re excited by it, it was a competitive process to sort of win the favour of the Ontario Energy Board to actually do these trials,” says Ivano Labricciosa, the president and CEO of the OPUC.

Aiming to start in the spring of 2018, Labricciosa says Oshawa residents will have the option to sign up for a pair of pick and pay programs. The first, labelled as a seasonal time of use program will allow residents to have two time-of-use (TOU) periods in the summer and winter while paying a flat rate in spring and fall, or a super peak time of use program which allows for a simplified two-price plan combined with a “super peak” period on weekday afternoons.

For Labricciosa, the new programs offer the opportunity for residents to find a program that suits their lifestyle.

“No one is going to change their lifestyle to shoehorn in a plan, I like to think this is the other way around,” he says. “It’s us figuring out what plan works best for you and helps you develop an envelope.”

Currently, the OPUC is looking for 2,000 customers to sign up for the pilot program, following which they will analyze existing information to see if the household is a good fit.

“We’re trying to use the intelligence to figure out how people are using energy, whether these prospective price plans, or other ones, will be better for them in meeting the customer needs,” Labricciosa says, noting that right now, it’s unclear how affective the programs will be in terms of savings. “It’s a trial, so much like anything else, nobody knows the answers yet. We’re trying to get people to participate, it’s kind of a no-risk trial.”

The OPUC advises that they will be posting further information once it becomes available on their website and state that Oshawa residents interested in taking part in the program can call OPUC customer service at 905-723-4623.

As seen on CTV News, Oshawa Power and Utilities has been selected as one of three Utilities to participate in a pilot program that will give residents the ability to pick and choose a Utility Billing package that will work the best to suit the needs of their household. At Oshawa Power our goal is to bring the best services and value to our customers, when we applied to be a part of this initiative we thought it would benefit our community by giving more flexibility and better pricing options to our customers. The price of Electricity we understand is extremely important as well as the services we provide. We are pleased to be one of the preferred choices of the Ontario Energy Board to lead this important initiative here in Oshawa.

More details will follow, as we get closer to the launch of this but if you are interested in participating in this new and innovative program please contact our office. Stay tuned for more exciting information as the program unfolds!

See the news story here:

http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/province-set-to-announce-pick-and-pay-hydro-options-1.3565596