Hydro One's Electricity Discovery Centre celebrates first anniversary

-  Mobile education tool logs 12,000 km visiting communities across Ontario -

TORONTO, Sept. 15, 2014 /CNW/ - Hydro One's Electricity Discovery Centre (EDC) celebrates its first anniversary this week as it travels to the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo in Ivy, Ontario. In its first year of operation, the EDC travelled more than 12,000 km to attend 28 fairs and events – that's the equivalent of driving from Halifax to Vancouver and back. More than 27,500 Ontarians experienced the EDC at the various events and about 95 per cent of visitors said they would recommend visiting the centre to family and friends.

"Hydro One takes its commitment to educating its customers seriously. Through the Electricity Discovery Centre we have been able to interact directly with customers and they've told us this tool is valuable. We look forward to visiting more communities as the centre continues to travel across Ontario," said Carmine Marcello, President and CEO, Hydro One.  

The Electricity Discovery Centre is a 1,000-square foot state-of-the-art mobile education trailer with interactive games and exhibits that explain Ontario's power system, help customers manage their electricity use and costs, and educate children about electricity safety.

The Electricity Discovery Centre is staffed by Ambassadors who engage and educate visitors, offering tours through the various exhibits, helping customers with the various touchscreens and answering questions on anything from understanding billing to modernizing outage detection and restoration.

Another popular feature is the solar charging station, which allows visitors to recharge their tablets and smartphone's with renewable energy from the sun while they enjoy their EDC experience.

Children learn about electricity safety by meeting Ellie, the virtual leader of the Kids' Electricity Safety Team, and becoming members by finding 11 electrical hazards around the home.

Visit the Electricity Discovery Centre at the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo from September 16 to 20. The event is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Hydro One delivers electricity safely, reliably and responsibly to homes and businesses across the province of Ontario and owns and operates Ontario's 29,000 km high-voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities, and a 122,000 km low-voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end-use customers and smaller municipal utilities in the province. Hydro One is wholly owned by the Province of Ontario.

SOURCE: Hydro One Inc.

contact Hydro One Media Relations 24 hours a day at 1-877-506-7584 (toll-free in Ontario only) or 416-345-6868. Our website is www.HydroOne.com.