Toronto Hydro attending mutual aid conference ahead of storm season

Electrical utilities from the North Atlantic are meeting in New York City

TORONTO, Oct. 12, 2016 /CNW/ - Members of Toronto Hydro's emergency management team are in New York this week attending the North Atlantic Mutual Assistance Group (NAMAG) Conference.

The conference brings together utilities in provinces and states along the north-east that have formally agreed to provide each other assistance during emergencies, such as severe storms.

Over the next two days, NAMAG members will work on strengthening mutual aid processes through panel discussions, presentations and reviews. Topics include new technologies, such as mobile apps, and damage assessments following major events.

This year's event is co-hosted by Con-Edison and Central Hudson. Con-Edison is a utility that provides gas, steam and electric power to more than three million customers in New York City and Westchester County. Central Hudson is an electricity and natural gas delivery provider for 300,000 electric and 79,000 natural gas customers in the suburbs of metropolitan New York City north to the Capital District at Albany. 

QUICK FACTS

• The NAMAG conference was hosted by Toronto Hydro in 2015
• NAMAG is a consortium of 26 utilities from across the North Atlantic that have signed an agreement to share resources during an emergency, like the 2013 ice storm, tropical storms, hurricanes, and other disasters
• Utilities attending the NAMAG Conference include PowerStream, Hydro One, Hydro Quebec, New Brunswick Power, Eversource Energy, First Energy, ConEd, National Grid, PEPCO Holdings, PSEG and Exelon, to name a few

QUOTES

"It's important to work with the other members of NAMAG prior to and during emergency situations since we rely on each other to help during extreme situations, such as an ice storm. Getting everyone together to talk about how to improve responses to mutual assistance calls is particularly valuable, which is why we participate in this conference."
-  John Borowitz, General Manager, Distribution Grid Operations and Emergency Management, Toronto Hydro 

ABOUT TORONTO HYDRO

Toronto Hydro owns and operates an electricity distribution system, which delivers electricity to approximately 758,000 customers located in the city of Toronto. It is the largest municipal electricity distribution company in Canada and distributes approximately 19% of the electricity consumed in the province of Ontario.

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SOURCE Toronto Hydro Corporation

Image with caption: "Toronto Hydro crews brief crews from other utilities following the 2013 ice storm. (CNW Group/Toronto Hydro Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161012_C4268_PHOTO_EN_794303.jpg

Tori Gass, Communications and Public Relations, 416-903-4037, [email protected]; 24-hour media line: 416-903-6845, [email protected]