Members In the News...

Hydro One continues its investment in colleges through its  partnership with four colleges including, Georgian, Algonquin, Mohawk and Northern colleges. Hydro One announced it will offer another $750,000 investment to Georgian's School of Engineering Technology. “The results are in from the first phase of this partnership and they are outstanding,” said Laura Formusa, President and CEO of Hydro One. “The four colleges have been very effective in attracting more students to their electrical programs, ensuring a stronger workforce for Hydro One and the entire utility sector. This is good news for the people of Ontario.”  For article in The Barrie Examiner, click here 

Siemens signs an agreement with Windstream Wolfe Island Shoals Inc. to supply up to 130 turbines for its 300 MW offshore wind power project on Lake Ontario, the first of its kind in Canada. For article in Daily Commercial News, Click here

Graybar teamed up with GE in 2011 for the GE Lighting Blitz! A total of $30,450 was donated to several charities as a result of the Blitz's success! Click here

Westburne launches new mobile application to the trade.  The new smart phone application is intended to provide timely information to the electrical trade including branch locator, promotion and product news and the latest edition of Circuit.  Click here.

Wolfedale continues their involvement in numerous community, and charity fund raising campaigns throughout the year, raising the bar with their fund raising auction for Starlight Children’s Foundation of Canada with the help and support of suppliers/partners and customers raising $3,500.00 for the foundation and sponsoring a food drive for the Mississauga Food Bank, raising over 600lbs of food for those less fortunate. Dial One Wolfedale Electric sponsored a winter clothing/coat and blanket drive. which were received by New Circles in Toronto.  Click here.

David Collie, President and CEO of the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA), announced that Doug Crawford will join ESA in late January as Vice President and Chief Public Safety Officer.   Mr. Crawford will join ESA from the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) of Ontario where he was Deputy Fire Marshal.  Collie stated that Doug's  "experience in harm prevention strategy and management of OFM activities is an excellent fit with ESA and the role of the Chief Public Safety Officer."  Click here.

President and CEO Frank Hughes is retiring after 40 years with the Graybar Canada, effective January 5, 2012.  Peter Horncastle will be named executive vice-president and general manager, assuming leadership of Graybar Canada. Electrical Business, Dec 8th - Click here

2011 Best-In-Class Gigaton Award winner, Schneider Electric was recognized for its leadership in energy efficiency and the development of the smart grid.  Click here

Long-time employees recognized by OSSO  for achievements. leadership & strong knowledge base.  Click here.

EDA confirms "Electricity isn't the problem, it's the answer" - A new Electricity Distributors Association report calls for a comprehensive review of the electricity sector and provides a roadmap to initiate sector-wide discussion. Click here.

The Royal Group become Royal Building Products with new logo and branding initiative. Royal Building Products is a leader in the design, production and distribution of building materials. Click here for announcement on MarketWatch.

Schneider Electric 3 White Papers on EVlink now available online  concerning the charging infrastructures, fleet management and plugging into smarter energy management. Documents discuss the technological, economic and safety issues of the use of charging terminals for electric vehicles.  click here.

Siemens Canada now offer  new PROFIBUS certified training at their state-of-the-art Peterborough Learning Centre.  Engineers who complete this training are awarded certified engineer status by Profibus & Profinet International.  Click here for news release.

The Minister of Training Colleges & Universities annually announces awards for Apprenticeship Training to celebrate employers that show leadership in training apprentices, support the apprenticeship training system, and promote careers in skilled trades. Selected by a panel of apprenticeship experts from different sectors, the 2011 winner is OEL Member, Con’s Electric Company Ltd., Timmins which has been in business since 1985, and has trained more than 50 apprentices. The company have four construction and maintenance electrician apprentices, and also hire and train co-op students.

OEL once again participated in the Electro-Federation Canada EFC Foundation Scholarship Program through the Bob Dyer/OEL Apprenticeship Scholarship with five $500 scholarships. Winners for 2011 are Jeff McFadden, Fanshawe College; Roshan Augustinepillai, Humber College; Bradley Richie, Conestoga College; Erik Kimens, Durham College; and Bryce Bates, Cambrian College. Watch for details of the 2012 scholarships information at http://www.electrofed.com/scholarship-program/

Eaton’s Win Prestigious Industry Awards for Innovative Residential/Domestic Product of the Year for their PV Switch & Surge Unit, developed in conjunction with Solarcentury.  Eaton's Trading Standards & Policy Manager, Kevin Harris also won the award for Outstanding Contribution to Electrical Excellence at this year's Electrical Industry Awards.  Additionally, Eaton was highly commended in the Innovative Power Product of the Year category  Click here.

Peterborough Utilities has recently put into commercial operation their Lily Lake Solar Farm, a 10MW photovoltaic solar facility and second major renewable project increasing renewable generation capacity to 24 MW. John Wynsma, VP Generation & Retails Services says this makes  the utility "the largest generator of renewable energy in the province" .  The 8 MW Robert G. Lake Generating Station began producing hydroelectric power in December 2009. Click here for details.

Legrand/Pass & Seymour's 3 year partnership with Lear Corporation to lay the foundation for electric vehicle charging standards and design innovative components for electric vehicles focused on research, testing and development, and some of the SAE and UL standards for today’s electric vehicles evolved from it. Over the past year, Legrand and Lear expanded their relationship to design and bring innovative electric vehicle charging solutions to the marketplace. Click here for news release.

Eaton Celebrates 100-year Heritage of Innovation; Power Management Leader Rings the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange.  Click here for news release.

Philips Lighting selected as a 2011 Leader of Change Award winner by the Foundation for Social Change and the United Nations Office for Partnerships for its longstanding commitment to sustainability through the development of innovative lighting, including light-emitting diod (LED) technologies.  Click here for news release.

GE announces Milestone: 1,000th Wind Turbine Installed in Canada at CanWEA's 27th Annual Conference and Exhibition.  Click here.