We’ve been serving and helping to build this community since 1847, and share a vested interest in ensuring safe and reliable water, sewer, gas and electricity infrastructure for every business and individual in Kingston. In 2015, the corporation committed a strong focus on planning for the future.
To begin the year, Kingston City Council approved four-year capital budgets for municipally-owned utilities, which include the water, wastewater and gas utilities and an appliance rental business. Having a four-year capital infrastructure plan allows us to coordinate our work jointly with the City of Kingston, improving reliability and reducing disruption to residents and businesses alike.
In addition to operating municipal utilities, our employees manage a fibre optics network, and the assets of electricity distributor Kingston Hydro.
On June 1, 2015, we submitted to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) a five-year electricity distribution plan to determine Kingston Hydro’s electricity distribution rates effective January 1, 2016 through to 2020. Our application was proven to meet the expectations of our customers for reliable service at a reasonable price. Rate changes will fund projects to drive system reliability.
Customers were the key in exceeding 2011-2014 conservation and demand targets, filed in 2015. We represented one of only five electricity distributors in Ontario to meet or exceed provincially mandated targets.
In 2015, we also prepared Kingston Hydro’s 2015-2020 Conservation First framework. The Ministry of Energy has set challenging targets: 34.5 GWh of persisting electricity consumption savings by December 31, 2020. The plan was approved by the province in late 2015 and we look forward to working with our customers to achieve it.
Extreme weather in the winter of 2015 helped us recognize improvements to both the process and communications in how we respond to water services freezing.
A long deep freeze meant that Kingston and many other municipalities experienced the problem to an extent not seen in twenty years. Staff took the opportunity to implement a new Frozen Water Service Policy in accordance with the Water By-law, as well as educational materials. A reoccurring theme this past year was the calibre of our expertise and the industry-leading nature of initiatives led by our employees, of which we’re really proud.
A scorecard released by the OEB in 2015 awarded our performance with high scores and confirms that Kingston Hydro continues to perform strongly against customer focus, operational effectiveness and other provincial targets.
From leading-edge GIS tools, to stellar conservation results, a nationally recognized basement flooding reduction/prevention program, multi-utility locator services, and a cross connection control program that leads the way in Eastern Ontario, the dedication of our multi-faceted employees demonstrates leadership in many areas. I thank each and every one of you for bringing our utility to the forefront of our industry.
While our employees take pride in providing a high level of service to every individual in Kingston, our customers place a high level of trust in us and we thank you for your support.
Finally, many thanks to our Shareholder and Board of Directors for supporting Kingston’s unique multi-utility model. We’re looking forward to 150 more years in serving our local community.
J.A. (Jim) Keech
President and Chief Executive Officer