Alectra Utilities is now the largest municipally-owned electric utility in Canada. Photo Credit: Alectra Utilities/X.
As the City of Hamilton continues to expand, Alectra Utilities is investing $22.4 million to enhance the municipality’s energy reliability and meet its growing needs.
The money will go towards upgrades and modernization of electricity infrastructure.
Chris Hudson, Senior Vice President of Operations for Alectra, said, “The safety and reliability of electricity delivery to our customers remains our top priority.”
“Our commitment extends to investing in innovative technologies that mitigate power outages and reduce environmental footprints, all while providing a cost-effective solution for our valued customers,” he continued.
In 2024, Alectra is focusing on five key projects in Hamilton.
A total of $10.4 million will go towards replacing aging infrastructure such as poles, transformers, and switchgear.
The company said that “modernizing these elements will help minimize disruptions and improve the reliability of Hamilton’s energy grid.”
Second, $6 million will be spent to connect new customers and accommodate the growth and development of the city.
Another $3.6 million will be used to deploy new automated devices, “enabling a swift response to grid disturbances.”
Lastly, $1.4 million will go towards replacing and upgrading substations and $960,000 will be used to replace and rehabilitate underground cables.
In 2024, Alectra has allocated approximately $297 million for capital improvements across the 17 communities they serve.
The company says that they set a record for reliability in 2023, with customers only experiencing approximately one outage per year on average and less than one hour without power annually.
With that record, Alectra was among the leaders in reliability among Ontario’s Local Distribution Companies.
Alectra Utilities is now the largest municipally-owned electric utility in Canada, serving more than one million homes and businesses and approximately three million people in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe.
The company was formed in 2017 when Horizon Utilities merged with four other utility companies.
In addition to Hamilton, their territory includes Aurora, Barrie, Brampton, Guelph, Markham, Mississauga, Richmond Hill, St. Catharines, Vaughan, and seven other communities.
Investments by Alectra in Hamilton in previous years include $14.3 million in 2021 to extend feeder lines and add grid operation automation, $9.7 million in 2022, and $8.9 million in 2023.
Alectra spokespeople said that Hamilton’s leading causes of power outages include equipment failures, adverse weather conditions, and equipment damaged by vehicle accidents.
The company sends leaflets in the mail informing locals if their work will result in any power or traffic impacts.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
