![Ottawa Hydro Electric Substation No 4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Ottawa_Hydro_Electric_Substation_No_4.JPG)
Hydro Ottawa Limited is a regulated
electricity distribution company operating in the City of
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
and the Village of
Casselman in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. As the third-largest municipally owned electrical utility in Ontario, Hydro Ottawa maintains the electricity distribution systems in the city, and serves over 335,000 residential and commercial customers across a service area of 1,100 square kilometres.
History
Hydro Ottawa was formed in November 2000 from the amalgamation of five local distribution companies (Gloucester Hydro, Goulbourn Hydro, Kanata Hydro, Nepean Hydro and Ottawa Hydro). The history of the supply of electricity began in the 1880s with private electrical suppliers, became public in the early 1900s and continued in competition with private suppliers, chiefly those of
Thomas Ahearn
Thomas Ahearn, PC (June 24, 1855 – June 28, 1938) was a Canadian inventor and businessman. Ahearn, a native of Ottawa, Ontario, was instrumental in the success of a vast streetcar system that was once in Ottawa, the Ottawa Electric Railw ...
and his companies, until the 1950s.
![Russell Hotel ca1882](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Russell_Hotel_ca1882.jpg)
In 1882, Electric lighting in Ottawa started in at Young's mill in
LeBreton Flats (the previous year had seen Eddy's mill lit by electricity, on the Hull side). A year later, the House of Commons and the Senate were illuminated.
The first electric street lighting in Canada occurred on Victoria Day, 1884 when the Peterborough Light and Power Company lit 17 arc lights on George Street in Peterborough Ontario. In 1885, the Royal Electric Company (of Montreal, formed in 1884)
[Ottawa Citizen - Mar 13, 1928](_blank)
/ref> set up street lighting systems in Charlottetown and St. John's, Newfoundland. Ottawa had originally intended on using this company to light the city's streets, however, council contracted Ottawa Electric Light Company (formed 1884) to install 165 arc lamps on the city's streets. That company, which had as a director one of its founders Francis Clemow
Francis Clemow (May 4, 1821 – May 28, 1902) was a merchant and political figure in Ontario, Canada. He sat for Rideau division in the Senate of Canada from 1885 to 1902.
He was born in Trois-Rivières, Lower Canada, the son of John Clemo ...
, along with founder lumber baron G. B. Pattee, had built a power station which used a water-powered generator. In May 1885, the streets of Ottawa were lit by electricity.
In 1887, the Chaudière Electric Light and Power Company was formed by Thomas Ahearn
Thomas Ahearn, PC (June 24, 1855 – June 28, 1938) was a Canadian inventor and businessman. Ahearn, a native of Ottawa, Ontario, was instrumental in the success of a vast streetcar system that was once in Ottawa, the Ottawa Electric Railw ...
, a local man and partner of Ahearn & Soper
Ahearn or Ahearne is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Blake Ahearn (born 1984), American basketball player
* Bunny Ahearne (1900–1985), British ice hockey promoter
*Joe Ahearne, British television director
* Michael Ahearne ...
, formed in the early 1880s. In 1890, there were two electrical providers, (Clemow's) Ottawa Electric Light Company, and Ahearn's company, Chaudière Electric Light and Power Company.
In 1894 Ahearn merged Ottawa Electric Light Company, and Chaudière Electric Light and Power Company, and bought out Standard Electric Company of Ottawa (Limited) in the process, naming it Ottawa Electric Company, creating a virtual monopoly on electrical services in Ottawa. (Erskine Henry Bronson
Erskine Henry Bronson (September 12, 1844 – October 19, 1920) was an American-born Canadian businessman and political figure. He represented the riding of Ottawa in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1886 to 1898.
He was born in Bo ...
played a role in the development of this company).
The following decades would see a continuous struggle between the City of Ottawa and Thomas Ahearn regarding the supplying of electricity to the city. In 1899 (possibly 1901), a charter was granted by the city to Consumers Electric, a rival company to Ahearn's Ottawa Electric Company. In 1905, The City purchased Consumers Electric for $200,000, ending Ahearn's ongoing attempts at acquiring the company. They renamed it "Municipal Electric Department" which was the city's public electricity provider.
In 1908 Ahearn & Soper
Ahearn or Ahearne is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Blake Ahearn (born 1984), American basketball player
* Bunny Ahearne (1900–1985), British ice hockey promoter
*Joe Ahearne, British television director
* Michael Ahearne ...
bought the Ottawa Gas Company, and with the Ottawa Electric Company formed the Ottawa Light, Heat and Power Company Limited. This parent holding company wholly owned the two previous companies and would refer to Ottawa Electric as its "Ottawa Electric division" well into the new century. This meant that there were no longer outside shareholders to Ottawa Electric, but there were shareholders to Ottawa Light, Heat and Power Company.
In 1915 the "Municipal Electric Department" became Ottawa Hydro; named as the "Ottawa Hydro Electric Commission", when it joined forces with the provincial network of the Ontario Hydro Electric Commission.
In 1920 Ottawa Light, Heat and Power Company Limited acquired the assets of The Ottawa Power Company, Limited which included the power plant at Victoria Island (Ottawa River)
Victoria Island (french: Île Victoria, italic=yes, alq, Asinabka, italic=yes) is an island in the Ottawa River, located north of LeBreton Flats, 1 km west of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The island is "a place of special s ...
erected in 1900.The Toronto World - Nov 1, 1920
/ref>
In 1950 Ottawa Hydro acquired the "Ottawa Light, Heat and Power Company, Limited", removing the last private sector competitor.
Hydro Ottawa was formed in 2000 when five municipal local distribution companies were merged: Gloucester Hydro, Goulbourn Hydro, Kanata Hydro, Nepean Hydro and Ottawa Hydro. In May 2002, Casselman Hydro also became a part of Hydro Ottawa.
Ottawa Hydro Electric Company Building - 109 Bank Street
Ottawa Hydro Electric Company Building (Bridgehead at street level) is a Heritage building in Ottawa located at 109 Bank Street, on the south-east corner of Albert Street. It was designated as under Part IV of the ''Ontario Heritage Act
The ''Ontario Heritage Act'', (the ''Act'') first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties and districts in the Province of Ontario, Canada, as being of cultural heritage ...
'' in 1992. It commissioned W. C. Beattie to design this Art Deco style office building in 1934. It was Ottawa Hydro's headquarters until 1957.
Current services
Hydro Ottawa provides electricity supply to its customers, by taking electricity from the provincial grid and distributing it to homes and businesses.
Hydro Ottawa also offers programs to help customers conserve electricity.
See also
* List of Canadian electric utilities
This is a list of the electric utilities in Canada.
List of electric utilities by size
List of electric utilities by province or territory
This is a list of Canadian public and private electric utilities, by province.
Electric Transm ...
References
;Bibliography
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External links
*
{{Authority control
Companies based in Ottawa
Municipal government of Ottawa
Electric power companies of Canada
Companies owned by municipalities of Canada
2000 establishments in Ontario