Toronto Hydro Teams Up to Paint the Town Green for Earth Week

10^th Annual Tree Planting Event Held in Milliken Park

TORONTO, April 21, 2013 /CNW/ - Today, more than 300 Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited (Toronto Hydro) employees and their friends and families, joined forces with City of Toronto staff and Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests (LEAF) volunteers to plant trees and shrubs in Milliken Park.

In addition to investing in the community's 'green' infrastructure, Toronto Hydro has been working in the Milliken Park neighbourhood since 2011 upgrading the area's electrical infrastructure. The existing system is nearing the end of its life expectancy and this work will help improve service reliability and reduce the frequency of outages in the area. Toronto Hydro is investing approximately $14 million in this project. Over the next five years, Toronto will lose nearly all of its ash trees (approximately 860,000 trees) to the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), an invasive beetle from Asia.  Protecting existing trees and planting new ones is more important than ever. Working with community organizations like LEAF, Toronto Hydro has planted more than 3,000 trees and shrubs since 2004. In the past two years, Toronto Hydro has planted 500 trees at its annual events.

Toronto Hydro is committed to protecting and minimizing the impact of its operations on the City's trees. The company works to limit tree contact with power lines through its vegetation management program. Employees carefully prune tree limbs to direct growth away from power lines and use covered power cable to help guard against outages caused by trees brushing up against the overhead wires.

Customers planning their own planting projects this season should remember to keep safety top-of-mind, and be aware of electrical infrastructure. Depending on the neighbourhood, Toronto Hydro infrastructure may be located underground or overhead. Customers concerned about tree branches or shrubs around wires or equipment should not attempt to clear them before consulting with Toronto Hydro. When digging, customers should confirm whether any underground infrastructure is present. Ontario One Call is a not-for-profit agency that offers a free locating service.  Requests need to be made five working days in advance and can be made by calling 1-800-400-2255 or at www.on1call.com

For more information on how you can contribute to Toronto's tree canopy, visit torontohydro.com/trees

QUOTE

"We take our environmental responsibility very seriously and work hard to reduce our impact on the environment. Since 2007, we have cut our total greenhouse gas emissions by 44 per cent. I look forward to seeing this number drop even further in the future."

• Ben LaPianta, Vice President of Distribution Grid Management

About Toronto Hydro 
Toronto Hydro-Electric System owns and operates an electricity distribution system, which delivers electricity to approximately 719,000 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.

Our World. Our City. Our Responsibility. See what we are doing to be safe, reliable and sustainable at torontohydro.com/responsibility

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Image with caption: "Toronto Hydro employees, Councillor Chin Lee, with City of Toronto staff and LEAF volunteers, form a 'giant tree' in Milliken Park at the 10th Annual Tree Planting Event. Three hundred native trees and shrubs were planted to celebrate Earth Week. (CNW Group/Toronto Hydro Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130421_C7263_PHOTO_EN_25808.jpg

SOURCE: Toronto Hydro Corporation

Media contact:

Tanya Bruckmueller, Toronto Hydro-Electric System
[email protected]
W: 416-542-2621
C: 416-903-0440

Emma Sharpe, Toronto Hydro-Electric System
[email protected]
W: 416-542-2654
C: 416-903-7823