Veridian wins award for the development of an innovative web application that enhances customer communications during power outages
AJAX, ON, May 5, 2016 – Veridian Connections (“Veridian”) is proud to announce that it received the Best Web GIS – Bronze award from the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (“URISA”) Ontario at its Annual General Meeting and BeSpatial event held yesterday in Mississauga. The award is presented to an organization that has demonstrated advanced online mapping services that enable publishing and sharing of geographic information through the integration of multiple business systems.
Accepting the award on Veridian’s behalf was Manager of Operations Information Systems, Maged Yackoub. “Our GIS viewer web application – developed internally at a low cost – provides a wide-range of functionality for various users, from outside crews accessing critical data from their tablets to system operators entering outage information onto a single interactive form that simultaneously updates Veridian’s online outage map, twitter feed, outage hotline and customer service representatives.”
Veridian’s internal GIS viewer web application, with its streamlined outage communications platform, has garnered lots of attention and positive feedback from utilities and industry representatives. In February 2015, Yackoub was invited to speak to the utility’s mapping capabilities at the annual DistribuTECH North America industry conference held in San Diego, CA.
Work is underway, using the GIS web application, to enable customers to receive power outage notifications by text, email and telephone. Veridian will be one of the first electric utilities in the province to deploy the service.
URISA is an independent, not-for-profit organization established in 1966. From webinars and workshops to multi-day conferences, URISA presents an abundance of educational programs, offers volunteer GIS expertise through its GISCorps program, and assists government agencies with benchmarking GIS maturity through its GIS Management Institute. URISA fosters excellence in GIS through its programs, guiding and supporting GIS professionals throughout their careers.
About Veridian Connections
Veridian Connections, serving more than 119,000 customers, is about to become the fifth largest municipally owned electric utility in Ontario after the merger of large utilities west of Toronto is completed. The City of Pickering, the Town of Ajax, the Municipality of Clarington and the City of Belleville jointly own Veridian Corporation, the parent company to Veridian Connections. The utility has a successful history of effective growth through two mergers and five acquisitions, and now serves nine communities east and north of Toronto more efficiently than any other large non-contiguous utility in Ontario. Veridian has a keen focus on reliability, customer communication and helping to lower customers’ electricity bills through the delivery of innovative conservation programs and reasonable rates. Veridian not only contributes to local communities through industry leading financial returns, but also helps build stronger communities through the support of youth, health, economic development, education, the arts, the environment and the disadvantaged. Industry leading employee and public safety, environmental programs and a focus on employee engagement has created an environment that has attracted seven consecutive Canada’s Greenest Employer awards and one Top GTA Employer award. Veridian has now diversified into renewable energy, and will be establishing other value added offerings for its customers
SOURCE Veridian
http://www.veridian.on.ca