May 27, 2024 How is the apprentice-to-journeyperson ratio changing? All trades currently use a ratio of no more than two apprentices for each journeyperson (a 2:1 ratio). The department is amending this to a 1:1 apprentice to journeyperson ratio. The regulation will come into effect later this calendar year. Why is the change being implemented?…
May 27, 2024 By Keith Sones, seasoned utility industry executive “That’s a great idea!” I said enthusiastically. My boss had just given me my first commission as a new safety and health professional, and I was eager to applaud his proactivity. Low in the food chain, I figured it couldn’t hurt to burnish his ego a…
May 21, 2024 The B.C. Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) released a comprehensive analysis of how advancements in energy storage can facilitate higher levels of renewable energy adoption. The “Powering the Future with Energy Storage” report answers three urgent questions surrounding the future of the electricity system and grid decarbonization: “Enabling efficient integration of…
May 21, 2024 On a year-over-year basis, primary energy production increased 2.6% in February to 1.9 million terajoules, while secondary energy increased 1.3% to 0.4 million terajoules. As 2024 is a leap year, February’s data contain a 29th calendar day. This additional day should be taken into consideration when looking at year-over-year comparisons with February 2023 data. In terms of average daily production, both primary (-0.9%)…
Electrification, renewable energy, electric vehicles, an aging electrical grid, data centres are all key factors in the increased demand for electrical distribution equipment.
May 9, 2024 By Blake Marchand At this year’s EV & Charging Expo, hosted by Electric Autonomy, Siemens made a significant announcement, introducing their zero-emission fleet management services, Depot360 Managed Services and Depot360 CaaS (Charging-as-a-Service). Faisal Kazi, CEO of Siemens Canada and Theresa Cooke, Head of Global Customer Success, Managed Charging for Siemens took part…
April 23, 2024 The La Gabelle power station, located between the municipalities of Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel and Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, on the Saint-Maurice River, is celebrating 100 candles! It was on April 14, 1924 that the first four turbine-alternator groups began to produce electricity. A fifth group was added in 1931. The power station has been supplying Hydro-Quebec customers…
April 9, 2024 BluWave-ai and Envari Energy Solutions (Envari) announced the results of an initial project for a countrywide Canadian school bus operator for how it can achieve 95% fleet electrification using AI-driven optimization. The school bus operator has between 500 to 1,000 school buses at multiple regional facilities in Canada. They plan to convert…
April 9, 2024 On April 3 and April 5, 2024, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) issued two separate Grid Alerts, notifying Albertans of generation shortfalls. The April 5, 2024, incident also prompted brief rotating outages across the province. Marie-France Samaroden, AESO Vice President, Grid Reliability, provided an overview of the Grid Alerts to the…
April 9, 2024 A new report from the Pembina Institute, Better Buildings for All: Relieving energy poverty through deep retrofits, calls for urgent investments in deep retrofits to alleviate energy poverty for low-income households. The report, released today, calls on senior orders of federal and provincial governments and utilities to take decisive action against energy poverty,…
April 9, 2024 K-Line highlights an ongoing project in urban Ontario on LinkedIn: Our dedicated team has been hard at work constructing a new 27.6kV 4 circuit pole line in a high-density urban area in Ontario. The stunning pictures showcase our crew in action, installing taps to join de-energized distribution lines over highway 404. What…
March 26, 2024 Canadian electricity systems must implement wide-ranging changes to meet decarbonization targets, and regulatory authorities can play a central role in facilitating this transition. However, regulatory structures as they currently stand are not well-suited to facilitate the scale of investments that are necessary to meet the nation’s climate goals. Mobilizing cohesive regulator action…
March 26, 2024 Electricity Canada’s sixth annual State of the Canadian electricity industry examines what’s slowing down building a cleaner, bigger, more reliable grid. A new report by Electricity Canada says that building a bigger, cleaner, more reliable grid is not progressing as fast as it needs to if we want to meet our net…
March 26, 2024 By Keith Sones, seasoned utility industry executive “I’m sorry, I don’t know the answer.” The interviewer placed his paper on the table and smiled at me. The expression on his face reminded me of how one might look at a new puppy who had just had an accident on the carpet. Translation –…
March 26, 2024 By Blake Marchand On February 26th and 27th Electro-Federation Canada (EFC) executives and members returned to Parliament Hill for their second ‘Ottawa Day’ to advocate on behalf of their members and the electrical and automation industry as the country continues to progress toward net-zero. The main objective of the delegation is to…
March 14, 2024 By Muhammad Ahsan, DEI Specialist, EHRC As a male-identifying individual in today’s professional landscape, I’ve observed the pervasive and often unspoken divide that gender inequity creates in the workplace. Witnessing this gap, I need to address it, not just as a bystander but as an active participant in the dialogue and solution….