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Engaging university and college students is critical in our industry, says Joris Myny, Chair of Electro-Federation Canada (EFC)’s scholarship program and a senior vice president of Siemens Canada Limited.

The total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities fell 12.9% to $6.1 billion in January, following a 6.1% increase the previous month. Lower construction intentions for non-residential buildings in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario were responsible for much of the national decline. 

For an electrical installation, meeting the minimum code requirements is not achieved simply by following the installation requirements of the Canadian Electrical Code Part 1 (CE Code)…

From 1992 to 2008, electrician Denis Lapointe worked at the Canada Revenue Agency’s Ottawa taxation facility drilling and pulling wires through walls, floors and ceilings. In the process, he may have been exposing himself and others to asbestos. According to CBC news reports, Lapointe learned that asbestos was present only while reading a 1995 building condition report —despite laws requiring employers to inform workers of hazards they may be exposed to. To find out more, he had to file access to information requests.

Unique messaging and a well-constructed website gave us the impetus to want to look into Kamloops’ forty year old, family owned and operated, Crawford Electric.  Their team of licensed electricians support the firm’s long-standing reputation as the 2011 winner of the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce Green Award, and a full British Columbia Hydro Alliance Member, Crawford Electric specializes in energy-saving lighting upgrades. 

Surge protection devices (SPDs) play a critical role in guarding sensitive electrical equipment from the destructive effects of power transients, but servicing them safely without impacting critical operations has traditionally been difficult. Now a new generation ofSPDs with sophisticated safety functionality is helping organizationsaddress that longstanding limitation. This white paper explains howthe latest SPDs empower companies to maximize surge protectionwithout endangering technicians, and outlines critical features to lookfor when evaluating these new and advanced devices.

From 2013 to 2014, websites remain the dominant source. Among the greatest changes, e-newsletters jumped 11%, while print newsletters dropped 15%.

So, Who are You Supporting? Feedback from Electricity Human Resource Canada (EHRC) research into the lack of diversity in the electricity industry has shed interesting light on the challenges and successes associated with the attraction, recruitment and retention of women in the sector. With the expected exodus of much of the workforce to retirement, and less than 5% of women working in the trades (and only 25% industry wide), engaging this under-represented group is a priority.

Canada consumed 53.8 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity in December 2014, 5.1% less than the same month in 2013. The decline was driven by above average temperatures in Quebec. Nova Scotia also experienced a significant drop in the demand for electricity. Year over year, electric power generation in Canada fell 3.4% year over year to 58.3 million MWh. Exports to the United States totalled 5.4 million MWh in December, 12.0% higher than the previous year, while imports shed more than a quarter of their volume to total 0.8 million MWh.

This is the first of several articles published by the International Association of Electrical Inspectors that details significant changes for the 2015 Canadian Electrical Code Part I (CE Code).

Societies have “huge potential” to boost economic performance and generate significant environmental and social benefits by improving energy, asserts The 2015 Energy Productivity and Economic Prosperity Index. Europe alone could double its energy productivity performance on the basis of existing technologies.Key contributors identified by the report include energy efficient lighting, insulation, appliances, and heat pumps.

Buyers’ trust in product quality must be high. “Warranty” is the least important of 5 factors measured in this survey.

On Cartier Avenue in Quebec City, 34 giant lampshadesbacklit with LEDs and decorated with works by two Quebec artists are currently hanging over the street. The installation is an original concept by Lightemotion, a lighting design firm that illuminates building façades and interiors in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. While this “floating gallery” installation is temporary, Lightemotion will use the lighting fixtures to create new annual shows for the next five years.

Investment in new housing construction totalled $3.7 billion in December, up 5.1% from the same month a year earlier. The largest year-over-year advance occurred in Alberta, followed by British Columbia and Ontario. In Alberta, total investment in new residential building construction was up 16.7% to $865 million. British Columbia saw an 11.3% increase in spending to $633 million. In Ontario, investment rose 4.0% to $1.2 billion. Conversely, Manitoba posted the largest decline (-18.8% to $96 million). 

I am often asked how new rules get in the Code and how one could go about amending a code rule. All of these procedures are outlined in Appendix C of the Canadian Electrical Code, Part I. However, being written as a standard it is sometimes a struggle to follow.I trust this article easily explains the process. 

The world is almost too small to contain all the projects of Michelle Branigan, the CEO of Electricity Human Resources Canada the leading source of HR information for Canada’s electricity Industry. EHRC recently released the findings from its Bridging the Gap project, a national public/private initiative that aims to increase the representation of women as skilled workers in the electricity and renewable energy sector.