| Corporate Development |
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We understand the challenges facing many Ontario municipalities and their electric utilities: they need to find new approaches and innovative solutions to the old ways of doing business, and at the same time deliver what municipalities need without adverse implications to their local taxpayers.
Together, we can create partnering solutions that can ensure long-term operating efficiencies and improved shareholder value for the municipality. Electric utilities can take advantage of our expertise in customer service, technology, utility management, and access to equity and capital funding. Together, we can eliminate redundancies in service, technology and support structures, and leverage the utility's assets as a municipal funding source - all without changing the local identity and presence of the electric utility. |
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| Public-Private Partnerships |
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We have already created a number of unprecedented public-private partnerships to address the changing Ontario marketplace.
In November 2000, we were instrumental in the formation of two new regional electric distribution companies: Westario Power (formerly 8 LDCs) and Rideau St. Lawrence Power (formerly 4 LDCs), and acquired a strategic interest in each of the two new companies. Through these unprecedented partnerships, both Westario Power and Rideau St. Lawrence are better positioned to improve efficiencies and bring an added level of risk management to their operations, while maintaining service quality for their customers. In April 2002, we completed a ground-breaking 10-year lease agreement with the City of Port Colborne. Under the agreement we pay monthly lease payments to the City, through Port Colborne Hydro, and, in turn, we are responsible for all the operations in Port Colborne and finance and own all capital additions. In October 2002, we took yet another big step in acquiring Enbridge's 100% interest in Cornwall Electric, an Ontario-based electric transmission, distribution and generation utility. In April 2003, we purchased Eastern Ontario Power (formerly Granite Power) which has served the electricity demands of the Town of Gananoque for more than 120 years. This acquisition also represents our first acquisition of small hydroelectric plants (Granite Power Generation) in the province of 5 hydroelectric generating stations with a combined capacity of 6 megawatts. In all cases, we addressed the specific needs of the municipality or utility with a partnering solution that respected and dealt with the sensitivities of local issues, without changing the electric utility's identity or compromising the level of dependable and efficient service within the community. For details about our partnerships, see our press releases. |
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| Utility Management Expertise |
| We maintain a lean and highly skilled management team to facilitate nimble and flexible responses to changes in our industry and core businesses. Our senior management team understands the importance of balancing the needs of our customers and shareholders, while our corporate structure maximizes all available efficiencies and synergies on a corporate, regional and departmental basis. The result: we can manage and support the operations of several small utilities as though they were one single utility company. |
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| Human Resources Shared Management Services |
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Helping to Build Successful, Sustainable Organizations FortisOntario’s Shared Services will help you assess your current Human Resources practices and target development initiatives to what you really need. We can also assist you in implementing best practices to create an environment that attracts outstanding people and inspires them to stay. HR Strategies to Achieve Your Goals Organizations cannot exist without people. The individuals in your organization must buy into the vision, values and strategies of your business and understand how what they do contributes to your bottom line. Investing in your team and in your human resource management practices is essential to enhancing your organization’s productivity and continued success. With FortisOntario’s shared services, our expertise can help you do just that. By keeping it simple and developing a solid understanding of your company’s goals and values we believe we can competitively offer essential shared services which will allow you to spend more of your valuable time and energy developing and growing your core business profitably. *Click here to perform a self-audit on your Human Resource compliances and costs in your company. For more information contact: R. Scott Hawkes |
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| Superior Customer Service |
| At FortisOntario, we believe in a strong local presence for customer service delivery. The partnerships we have created maintain the local brand of the regional utilities involved. Our trained professionals use a universal customer service model to make sure point-of-contact support is delivered in an efficient and friendly manner. |
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| Integrated Information Technology |
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We have partnered with SAP, a worldwide leader in information management utility software, to create a comprehensive and integrated software solution that provides a strong backbone for our state-of-the art customer service delivery.
Our information technologies consolidate core utility business needs - customer service, work management, materials management, financial accounting, billing, invoicing and consumption - into a single enterprise-wide database. Ease-of-use and flexibility, along with business knowledge and industry best practices, are the driving force behind our system's rich integrated functionality for customer service, billing, credit and collections. |
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| Our Commitment |
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We are committed to having local utilities play a key role in their own local customer service presence and management, and in the continued growth and vitality of their community. We are also committed to creating partnerships that leverage our collective synergies and knowledge to eliminate redundancies in services, technology and support structures.
We know what teamwork is all about. We will work cooperatively with you, sharing best practices, to create a partnering solution that truly serves the best of all worlds. We invite you to explore the possibilities of creating a successful utility partnership with FortisOntario. |
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