Hydro Ottawa and MaRS Advanced Energy Centre announce partnership

TORONTO, May 6, 2015 – Hydro Ottawa and the Advanced Energy Centre at MaRS Discovery District today announced a new partnership focused on collaborating to help Hydro Ottawa explore new ways to integrate innovation into their business practices.

“Collaboration is a key building block to discovering innovative solutions, shaking up the status quo, and revolutionizing the industry,” said Bryce Conrad, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hydro Ottawa. “This partnership with MaRS is a natural fit for Hydro Ottawa as we continue to drive for performance excellence, while furthering our goal to be Canada’s leading electricity company of tomorrow.”

As part of the new partnership, Hydro Ottawa and the Advanced Energy Centre will co-create new business models and strategies for community energy projects, driving energy innovation. Together, the AEC and Hydro Ottawa will also engage the energy community around introducing new energy technologies to drive efficiencies and cost-effectiveness.

“Hydro Ottawa is a progressive, forward-looking Canadian utility that sees the value of innovation and the necessity of brining new solutions and offerings to their customers and stakeholders,” said Ron Dizy, Managing Director of the Advanced Energy Centre. “We look forward to working closely with Hydro Ottawa to uncover opportunities for energy innovation and convene the actors necessary to accomplish change.”

The first project the AEC and Hydro Ottawa will work on is how to bring genuinely innovative solutions to Windmill Developments Zibi project. The goal is to rethink opportunities for better energy solutions, by starting with a blank slate and a belief in the possible.

About the Advanced Energy Centre
The Advanced Energy Centre (AEC) is a public-private partnership with the mission of fostering the adoption of innovative energy technologies in Ontario and Canada, and leveraging those successes and experiences into international markets. The AEC works with Canadian startups and SMEs in the cleantech and, specifically, the energy sector. Its role is to actively develop partnerships that will help bring these technologies to global markets. Within Canada, the AEC works to identify and remove systemic barriers to the adoption of energy innovation.

About Hydro Ottawa
Hydro Ottawa’s core businesses are delivering electricity, generating renewable power and providing energy conservation/management services. Hydro Ottawa is a community-owned, private company, delivering electricity to more than 319,500 customers in Ottawa and Casselman. It is the largest municipally-owned producer of green power in the province, with hydroelectric and landfill gas-to-energy generating facilities. Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. (Hydro Ottawa) owns and operates two subsidiary companies, Hydro Ottawa Limited and Energy Ottawa Inc.