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Author: Laurie Palmer, Chief Operating Officer, Business & Infrastructure Services, ERTH Corporation
In the complex world of utilities, collaboration is key. The CHEC Association is a prime example of collaboration and innovation between 15 Ontario utilities, formed with the objective to share ideas, strategies, services and resources. With many smaller utilities lacking the scale and resources required to meet regulatory requirements, CHEC provides a reliable support network to ensure they are able to adapt and respond to change.
Information technology is one of the core areas of focus for the CHEC Association. Customer Information and other utility systems are complex and require a significant level of expertise to maintain and operate. In addition, cyber security threats have never been greater, which is why the task of protecting utility assets against cyber attacks and creating a sustainable model for utilities to operate under became an initiative for the CHEC Association.
The vision was to create a common Customer Information System environment that would allow the CHEC members to take advantage of shared IT infrastructure, setups, testing and even services such as billing, call center, and credit and collections. The CHEC Association partnered with ERTH Corporation, to host a common Customer Information System platform that bolsters their cyber security posture, reduces risk, and also allowed members to leverage ERTH’s utility expertise when and if required.
The CHEC members went live on the new hosted Customer Information System in March of 2021. “This was truly a collaborative effort amongst the entire team and we are really excited to continue to push our shared services model to the next level.” said John Sherin, President of CHEC. It did not take long for members to start collaborating and leveraging resources. Recently, Orangeville Hydro experienced a shortage in their billing department and was able to work with ERTH to secure billing coverage for a period of time until new staff could be hired and trained. “It provides some peace of mind and is really just good risk management to move in this direction. Ultimately, being able to collaborate with other CHEC members and ERTH will help us keep costs down for our rate payers, which is important to us,” added Rob Koekkoek, President of Orangeville Hydro.
About CHEC
CHEC is a collaborative association of 15 Local Distribution Companies (LDCs) operating in the province of Ontario. With a dedicated staff of six employees, CHEC works with its members to deliver support across all areas of operation including Finance and Regulatory, Billing Systems and Customer Information Systems, Operations and Health and Safety, Conservation and Demand Management, and Communications. To learn more, visit the CHEC website.
About ERTH
ERTH Corporation is a diverse group of companies providing a wide range of products and services to Utilities and Municipalities. Owned by nine municipal shareholders, ERTH distributes electricity to 15 communities in southwestern Ontario and has grown to be a leading solutions provider in the areas of technology, metering, construction and substation maintenance. ERTH’s technology division specializes in bill design, document fulfillment, billing, CIS application management, cloud computing and EBT hub services.
Two electric vehicles plug in at the Port Stanley Beach EV Charger location.
Ingersoll, ON – Chris White, President & CEO of ERTH Corporation, today announced the completion of the ERTH Energy Community EV Network, a network of 24 publicly accessible level 2 electric vehicle (EV) chargers connecting ERTH’s 15 service communities that stretch from Lake Erie to Lake Huron. Using its knowledge of the local electricity grid and leveraging relationships with municipal shareholders, ERTH is deploying a network of EV chargers in locations that make sense for both EV drivers and the electricity system. The new EV chargers are located at twelve locations in eight communities will provide residents with more options to charge their vehicles where they live, work and play.
To encourage increased adoption of zero-emission vehicles, Natural Resources Canada has agreed to provide $99,900 in funding to ERTH Corporation to help it build 21 of the 24 EV chargers across southwestern Ontario. ERTH and its participating municipal shareholders are contributing the parking spots and the remaining funds required to the purchase and install the EV chargers. With the federal funding, the total cost of the project is approximately $330,000.
Federal funding for 21 of the EV chargers is provided through Natural Resources Canada’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP), which supports the government’s ambitious target to have all new passenger vehicles sold in Canada be zero-emission by 2035. The funding provided to ERTH is intended to support charging in more localized areas, such as on street and in other areas intended for public use. The new charging locations include a mix of on-street locations (Aylmer, Goderich, Tavistock and Mitchell) and public parking lots located at arenas, tourism information centres, beaches and in downtown cores (Aylmer, Port Stanley, Goderich, Belmont, Norwich and Clinton). The infrastructure resulting from these investments will ensure that people can charge their vehicles reliably and safely in these communities.
Electricity to the chargers will be provided by the local electricity distributor, ERTH Power Corporation – Your Hometown Utility. The chargers are pay-for-use and EV drivers will pay a competitive market rate to charge their vehicles, which is currently $1.50 per hour of charging.
Chris White, President & CEO of ERTH Corporation plugs in an electrical vehicle at an ERTH EV charging location.
The ERTH Energy Community EV Charging Network will soon expand with the installation of a level 3 EV fast charger at the Goderich Tourist Information Centre. ERTH has also partnered with the County of Elgin and the Municipality of Central Elgin to install 20 level 2 EV chargers at their respective workplaces. These projects are expected to be completed by the fall of 2021. These investments add to ERTH’s growing mix of clean distributed energy resources throughout the communities that it serves, which include 900kW of solar generation on municipal properties.
About ERTH Corporation:
ERTH Corporation is a diverse group of companies with its origins in the utility industry. Owned by nine municipal shareholders, ERTH distributes electricity to 15 communities in southwestern Ontario and it has grown to be a leading provider of products and services in many industries including utility, energy retailer, municipal, and commercial and industrial to name a few. With customers across North America, ERTH is committed to improving the overall customer experience while helping to lower operating and maintenance expenses for our customers. For further details on ERTH Corporation, please visit www.erthcorp.com.
About ERTH Power Corporation:
ERTH Power Corporation is a licensed distribution company (LDC) providing efficient delivery of electricity, billing and maintenance service to over 25,000 residential and commercial customers within its licensed boundaries. Areas that ERTH Power currently service include the municipalities of Aylmer, Port Stanley, Belmont, Ingersoll, Thamesford, Otterville, Norwich, Burgessville, Beachville, Embro, Tavistock, Clinton, Mitchell, Dublin and Goderich. For further details on ERTH Power Corporation, please visit www.erthpower.com.
Media Contact:
Jocelyn Facciotti
Marketing, Communications and Sustainability Coordinator
226-228-4382
jocelyn.facciotti@erthcorp.comcreate new email
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