Hydro One builds relationships and understanding with new First Nations customer service offering

TORONTO, Oct. 21, 2016 /CNW/ - Hydro One is successfully offering a new service model to several Ontario First Nation communities that focuses on in-community, face-to-face interactions and ensuring customers understand and access all of the available programs.

Launched in September, representatives from Hydro One's Customer Service team have been visiting First Nations communities around the province to meet with Chiefs and Councils, conduct community information sessions and have one-on-one sessions with individual customers.

"The local outreach and presence in the community is invaluable to help educate customers, face to face in their own communities,  about their electricity usage and get them enrolled in various financial and electricity conservation programs," says Ferio Pugliese, Executive Vice President of Customer Care and Corporate Affairs. "So far this year, our team has made over a dozen visits out to communities across the province and have met individually with over 400 customers." As time progresses this program can be scalable and can be extended more broadly across the province.

The program works by allowing the Hydro One team to sign customers up for available conservation programs, collaborating with community service organizations such as the United Way to help low-income customers and ensuring customers who qualify are taking advantage of the Province of Ontario's Ontario Electricity Support Program. Hydro One owns and operates transmission assets on 24 First Nation reserves and provides distribution services directly to 88 First Nations communities.

"Collaborating with our administrative staff, Hydro One has been providing in-person services to the community of Six Nations for the past two years," says Chief Ava Hill. "We commend and appreciate their efforts to build relationships with First Nations. Through this initiative, a number of our community members who are existing customers and are residing on the Territory have been able to access tools and information to help lower their monthly bills."

About the Company:

Hydro One Limited (TSX: H) Hydro One is Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario with approximately $24 billion in assets and 2015 revenues of over $6.5 billion. Hydro One delivers electricity safely and reliably to over 1.3 million customers across the province of Ontario, and to large industrial customers and municipal utilities. Hydro One owns and operates Ontario's approximately 29,000 circuit km high-voltage transmission network and an approximately 123,000 circuit km primary low-voltage local distribution network. For more information about Hydro One, visit www.HydroOne.com

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SOURCE Hydro One Inc.

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