Electrical Safety Authority Hosts 2019 Ontario Electrical Safety Awards

Ontario safety leaders Oshawa Power, Coco Paving, Waterloo North Hydro recognized for excellence in electrical safety

MISSISSAUGA, ON (Sept. 27, 2019) –  Yesterday, the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) held its Annual Meeting and Ontario Electrical Safety Awards to celebrate achievements in electrical safety. The award recipients – a paving company, and two local distribution companies – illustrated that electrical safety is a shared responsibility that touches all individuals and organizations across the province.

The awards were presented by Peter Gregg, Chair, ESA Board of Directors, David Collie, President & CEO, ESA and Josephina Erzetic, ESA’s Chief Regulatory Officer and General Counsel in the categories of Worker Safety, Consumer and Home Safety and Powerline Safety. This year, Dr. Joel Moody, ESA’s Chief Public Safety Officer, gave special recognition to the organization Electricity, Safety and Conservation for educating school-age children in multiple grades on the dangers associated with electricity and providing information on how to identify and avoid those dangers.

The 2019 award recipients are:

Worker Safety: Oshawa Power – for their dedication to educating both external and internal workers through their Worker Safety Information Sessions. Oshawa Power provides continuous training to its employees through its Ergonomic Change Team and Wellness Committee that includes health and safety board postings, emails, Lunch and Learn lectures, and healthy departmental competitions. They extend their safety training to external workers through their ‘Contractor Safety Day’. This day includes guest speakers from various safety organizations with the goal of identifying the dangers of working around powerlines.

Powerline Safety: Coco Paving – for their dedication to proactively educating their employees on the dangers associated with working in close proximity to overhead powerlines. In early 2019, Coco Paving requested ESA’s participation in their organizations ‘2019 Spring Start Up Sessions” to promote Overhead Power Line and Safety Prevention with their workers to create awareness and ultimately prevention of workplace injuries due to powerline contact. Six sessions were provide to approximately 700 employees across Eastern Ontario. Coco Paving has taken a proactive step in creating a culture of care for their workers and preventing powerline contact incidents.

Consumer and Home Safety: Waterloo North Hydro (WNH) – for their innovative approach to educating consumers on an important safety issue through their 2018 Electrical Safety Poster Contest. The contest asked area elementary school students in (Grades 1-8) to design a safety poster outlining the importance of using Ontario One Call “locate request” before beginning an outdoor project. The contest provided an opportunity to communicate potentially life-saving information in a unique way to an under-used audience that engaged multiple stakeholder groups including parents and elementary school children - a very important group for educating the next generation on the dangers associated with electricity.

Chief Public Safety Officer’s Special Recognition Award: Electricity, Safety and Conservation – for their long-term commitment to educating school-age children in multiple grades on the hazards associated with electricity and providing information on how to identify and avoid those hazards. The company works with local distribution companies and educates tens of thousands of students every year across southern and northern Ontario who benefit from learning about the dangers around electricity and how to stay safe.

The 2019 Ontario Electrical Safety Awards celebrated safety leaders with a strong commitment to electrical safety in Ontario. Award winners pictured above with David Collie, President & CEO, ESA (second in, far left) Peter Gregg, Board Chair (fourth in, far, right), Josephina Erzetic, Chief Regulatory Officer and General Counsel, ESA (far right) and ESA’s Dr. Joel Moody, Chief Public Safety Officer (far left).

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“At ESA we recognize the role continued education plays in increasing awareness and prevention of electrical safety hazards,” says Dr. Joel Moody, Chief Public Safety Officer, ESA. “The safety leaders we honoured today have demonstrated that training can have far-reaching effects on the public at large for many generations to come. We share their remarkable accomplishments with the hope that others will strive to make their own contribution to making a safer Ontario.”

The Ontario Electrical Safety awards established in 2010 formally recognize the important contributions of individuals and organizations toward achieving ESA’s vision of an Ontario where people can live, work and play safe from electrical harm.

In addition to the awards, ESA’s Board Chair, Peter Gregg, and Chief Executive Officer, David Collie, highlighted ESA’s fiscal year accomplishments. For ESA’s annual report, visit esasafe.com.

About the Electrical Safety Authority

The Electrical Safety Authority's (ESA’s) role is to enhance public electrical safety in Ontario. As an administrative authority acting on behalf of the Government of Ontario, ESA is responsible for administering specific regulations related to the Ontario Electrical Safety Code, the licensing of Electrical Contractors and Master Electricians, electricity distribution system safety, and electrical product safety. ESA works extensively with stakeholders throughout the province on education, training and promotion to foster electrical safety across the province.

More information on the Electrical Safety Authority can be found at www.esasafe.com, through https://twitter.com/homeandsafety and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ElectricalSafetyAuthority.