Promoting public safety: Leave it to Hydro Ottawa!

OTTAWA, Oct. 1, 2014 /CNW/ - Hydro Ottawa has been recognized by the Electricity Safety Authority for its program promoting electricity safety and conservation to local elementary students. The utility received the 2014 Ontario Consumer/Home Electrical Safety Award, whose past recipients include Mike Holmes and Bryan Baeumler.

Hydro Ottawa sponsors an interactive and dynamic education program that informs elementary school students how to use electricity safely and wisely. For the 2013/14 academic year, Hydro Ottawa launched its Bright Ideas contest for students to practice electricity safety and conservation and the chance to win prizes for their classroom.

Quick Facts

• In 2010, the Electricity Safety Authority introduced the Ontario Electrical Safety Awards to acknowledge efforts that have advanced safety culture and support an Ontario free of electrical fatalities, serious injury, damage or loss.
• HGTV's Mike Holmes (2011) and Bryan Baeumler (2013) are previous recipients of this award.
• Since 2005, Hydro Ottawa has delivered more than 1,300 presentations to over 170,000 students in 195 elementary schools.
• The electrical safety and conservation presentations are delivered in both official languages to elementary schools in Hydro Ottawa's service territory on a four-year rotational cycle.
• More than 1,600 students in 71 classes from 42 schools registered for our Bright Ideas contest. Teachers provided students with a work sheet to bring home to their parents, and students reported back with steps they planned to take to stay safe and conserve electricity at home. These students became ambassadors, sharing information and starting discussions with family and friends.

Quotes

"We're reaching out to children because building electrical safety knowledge and habits and an early age is important. We are proud of our contribution to ensuring a safer, more sustainable future by educating the leaders of tomorrow about electricity."

• Bryce Conrad, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hydro Ottawa

Click here to watch Hydro Ottawa's Electricity Safety and Conservation Program in action.

www.hydroottawa.com

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About Hydro Ottawa

Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. (Hydro Ottawa) owns and operates two subsidiary companies, Hydro Ottawa Limited and Energy Ottawa Inc. Hydro Ottawa Limited is the third largest municipally owned electrical utility in Ontario serving more than 315,000 customers in the City of Ottawa and the Village of Casselman. Energy Ottawa Inc., Ottawa's largest producer of green power, generates renewable energy and provides commercial energy management services.

Image with caption: "Since 2005, Hydro Ottawa has delivered more than 1,300 electricity safety and conservation presentations to over 170,000 students. (CNW Group/Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20141001_C9768_PHOTO_EN_42926.jpg

SOURCE: Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc.

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