Test Page: Understanding Harms Through Data and Trends

An Overview of Electrical Safety: At Work, At Home and in Public Places

At ESA, we analyze data from the Ontario Electrical Safety Report (OESR) to anticipate, identify and target the leading causes of electrical related harms in Ontario.

ESA has identified five priority categories of electrical harms:

Occupational

Non-Occupational

Utility Equipment

Electrical Fires

Electrical Products
48% of fatalities 52% of fatalities 52% of fatalities 99 deaths 90% cases in 2025
Learn more about risks facing workers on the job Learn more about everyday risks around the home Learn more about Ontario’s largest single share of fatalities Learn more about electrical equipment fires and causes Learn more about unapproved electrical products

Overall Electrical Fatalities

The five-year rolling average rate of electrical fatalities in Ontario remains at one per million population.

1 per million

How Ontario manages electrical fatalities:

 

Occupational

Occupational electrical-related fatalities are a particular hazard to those who routinely work near electrical sources.

Education and proper protection are essential in preventing electrical injuries at work.

Occupational electrical-related fatalities ▼ 28%
(Five-year rolling average rate per million population 2016–2020 vs. 2021–2025)

Where the risks concentrated (2016-2025):

  1. Industrial settings
    —     Most common type of facility where occupational related fatalities have occurred.
  2. Repair and maintenance
    —     Most common work activity at the time of fatality.
  3. Improper procedures and lack of training
    —     Cited as probable causes for occupational electrical related fatalities.

 

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Non-Occupational

The five-year rolling average rate of non-occupational electrical-related fatalities (per million population) increased when comparing 2016-2020 to 2021-2025.

Non-occupational fatality rate ▲ 29%
(2016–2020 to 2021–2025)

Residential settings remain the most common location.

  • 21% human error
  • 21% misuse
  • 21% theft
  • 17% unknown

Many incidents are predictable and can be prevented through education, safe practices and protective measures.

Preventing Harms

We manage these electrical-related fatalities through safety resources, such as:

Electrical-injury WSIB claims in Ontario

wsib claims 3x greater among males than females

Construction and services sectors contribute to the highest number of WSIB lost time injury claims.

Injuries to workers include electrocutions or electrical burns

rate of wsib claims
Note: Electrocutions and electric shock, as provided by the WSIB, include injuries only.
Source: WSIB

Emergency departments (EDs) visits due to electrical injuries increases 15%

9,821

Visits to Ontario hospital EDs to due electrical injury

2015-2025

Home, trade and service areas, and industrial and construction areas are the locations where injuries are most commonly reported

Males account for twice as many electrical-injury ED visits

2x more male than female visits

The pattern appears across every age group over the past 10 years.

 majority young men 25 to 30

 

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Utility Equipment

Utility equipment accounts for 52% of electrical fatalities.

Between 2016–2025: 

  • 24 utility-related fatalities
  • 20 involved powerlines

83% of utility fatalities involved powerlines

Overhead powerline contact remains the leading cause of utility-related electrical incidents. (2016–2025)

► Explore ESA utility-safety programs here.

 

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Electrical Fires

Where do electrical fires start? 

Fire data from the 2025 report points to two dominant sources in Ontario homes and buildings.

608 Product Safety Fires

20% decrease in the five-year average of 2020 to 2024

Reported in 2024 — the leading source of residential fires

440 Electrical Distribution Equipment Fires

11% increase in the number (2020-2024)

Reported in 2024 — driven largely by wiring and aging equipment

Electrical product-related fires are declining.

Number of electrical product-related fires: a product loss fire is defined as a fire associated with appliances, cooking equipment, lighting equipment, and other electrical, mechanical or processing equipment as classified by the Office of the Fire Marshal.

Cooking equipment remains the leading ignition source in residential fires

Cooking equipment 38%, Electrical distribution equipment 27%,Appliances 11%

Stoves and range-top burners were the leading sources (74%) of cooking equipment fires between 2020 and 2024.

Leaving equipment unattended was the most common possible cause of electrical fires for

How we manage electrical fires through product safety awareness:

 

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Electrical Products

Electrical product safety cases increased 48% between 2016 and 2025.

2025 Snapshot:

640

Product safety cases submitted

12%

Increase in cases from 2024

90%

Of cases involved unapproved electrical products 

85%

Priority 2 (medium risk)

ESA has oversight for product safety related to the approval of electrical products, including consumer electrical products, before they are sold, used, offered, advertised or displayed in Ontario. ESA also responds to unsafe industrial and commercial products and publicizes product safety notices (including recalls) to protect end users.

► View ESA's programs and initiatives for managing product safety incidents.

Ontario Regulation 438/07 enables ESA to protect the public against potentially unsafe electrical products and equipment.

 

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