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Orangeville Hydro focuses on clear value, cost discipline: CEO

May 14, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Orangeville Hydro continues to be rated among the industry’s top-tier by provincial regulators.

Gia DeJulio, Hydro’s board of directors chairperson, said when town council met on May 11 that the utility company is at the top performer in operations efficiency, customer service delivery, reliable quality power, and in financial metrics. And that serves Orangeville’s residents and the business community well, she said.

“And also brought much-appreciated dividends to the town’s treasury,” she said.

Rob Koekkoek, the president and CEO, said a business plan centred on the practical fundamentals will lead the company to a confident future.

“Orangeville Hydro is lean, reliable, efficient, and we’re careful with our costs,” he said. “That does show up in our day-to-day work.”

Planning for the future is done with breathing room and fiscal strength, he said.

“We are focused in the areas where Orangeville Hydro can deliver clear value,” Koekkoek said.

Those areas are reliable capacity, cost discipline, modern service, and system readiness for growth, electrification, and distributed energy resources, he said.

Amy Long, the company’s CFO, said Orangeville Hydro aims to find a balance between keeping customer rates low and ensuring distribution revenues can cover the increased expenses related to the “changing electricity environment.”

With much talk about looking ahead and future planning, Councillor Joe Andrews asked Koekkoek about succession planning among staff.

“Dynamics change, employees change, their interests change,” Coun. Andrews said.

“You’ve identified one of the real challenges as a small organization with 20 staff,” Koekkoek said. “You’re not going to have duplication in every role.”

But you can still try whether to cover employee vacation absences or ensure staff are aware of growth opportunities in the organization, he said.

“Ensuring others are aware of what other roles there are,” Koekkoek said. “We do have movement within the company.”

Deputy Mayor Todd Taylor said he phoned the crowd at Hydro and found it difficult navigating the system. And he asked what is being done to improve such customer experiences.

Koekkoek said annual safety and satisfaction surveys are carried out to get customer feedback.

“The customer satisfaction survey, the best part about it is the open commentary at the end,” he said. “That last question: Anything else you’d like to say? And that’s where customers tell us what they really think.”

The survey with telephone and emailed complaints is a good conduit to the public, he said. And, to Taylor’s experience, Koekkoek said the company is replacing its telephone system and starting with a new after-hours call centre service.

“We’ve had some unreliable phone issues,” he said.

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