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Safer together: partnership takes centre stage at ESA's 2026 Electrical Safety Awards. Conestogo Electric, Enova Power, and more recognized. September 21, 2026 By Jack Burton ESA President and CEO Josie Erzetic and Board Chair Arjan Arenja with representatives from the seven organizations honoured with the inaugural Electrical Safety Partnership Award at the 2026 Ontario Electrical Safety Awards: FIFA Canada, the City of Toronto, Toronto Hydro, Exhibition Place, Aggreko, Arena Group and Showtech Power & Lighting. (Photo: ESA) Talking points. Professionals from Ontario's electrical sector convened in Mississauga and online for the 2026 Ontario Electrical Safety Awards, celebrating achievements in electrical safety. The event, marking its 17th year, highlighted collaboration as essential for enhancing safety amid significant industry growth. * The inaugural Electrical Safety Partnership Award recognized a collaboration involving FIFA Canada and the City of Toronto for World Cup infrastructure. * Barton Malow Canada received the Worker Safety Award for achieving over 70,000 hours of work without lost-time incidents at the Sanjgon Battery Energy Storage Facility. * Toronto Community Housing was honoured for its proactive safety measures across its housing network, benefiting 100,000 residents. This event underscores the importance of teamwork in advancing electrical safety, a critical issue as Ontario's electrical sector continues to evolve and expand. Powered by: Professionals from across Ontario's electrical sector gathered in Mississauga and online for the 2026 edition of the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA)'s Ontario Electrical Safety Awards and annual general meeting. Now entering its 17th year, the annual awards bring together the province's electrical industry to recognize and celebrate outstanding examples of individuals, companies, and institutions who have gone above and beyond in working to keep Ontarians safe as the province's electrical sector moves through one of its most significant periods of growth in generations. It's an annual tradition that ESA CEO and president Josie Erzetic said reflects the organization's core belief that "a safer electricity system is something we build together." With this cross-industry co-operation on display, Erzetic said that all of the program's examples of award-winning safety efforts showed collaboration to be "the foundation for so much of the progress that we are going to recognize here today," with the shared responsibility of the industry to support electrical safety in all aspects of the work, training, and communications they perform was evident through all six award presentations Electrical Safety Partnership Award. The inaugural Electrical Safety Partnership Award was introduced this year to recognize collaborations from across the industry that serve to "strengthen electrical safety, support Ontario's growth, and create lasting benefits for its people and communities," ESA's vice president of operations Eric Kingston said in his introduction. The first-ever recipients of this award was the collaborative partnership between FIFA Canada, the City of Toronto, Toronto Hydro, Exhibition Place, Aggreko's Arena Group, and Showtech Power and Lighting. Together, all of those groups worked to help coordinate and build the electrical infrastructure required in Toronto as it hosted its first-ever World Cup games this past summer. For Alan Jazvac, project manager with the City of Toronto, the success found by the many stakeholders involved all came down to planning; anchored by a holistic view across all teams that approached the background mechanics of the event, from power systems to lighting, with just as much intention and attention as the much-lauded FIFA fan experience. "It's all about the planning; it really was for us," said Jazvac. "We started two years ago, and it was about treating the power, the power systems, the IT, and all the things that we did as part of the event, so it wasn't just about the fan experience, but also about all the things that went on in the background: anything from new infrastructure we built at the stadium, new suites, hospitality, screens, audio systems - you name it." Worker Safety Award. Barton Malow Canada took home the ESA's Worker Safety Award for its work on the Sanjgon Battery Energy Storage Facility in Lakeshore, Ont. The award recognizes organizations and individuals who have displayed exceptional leadership in preventing electrical injuries through building strong safety cultures. The Sanjgon Battery Energy Storage Facility is one of Ontario's first utility-scale battery storage projects, with Barton Malow logging more than 70,000 hours of work on the project without a single lost-time incident or serious electrical event. "We work hard to maintain a strong safety culture, and receiving this award and to be recognized and acknowledged by the ESA is truly an honour for us," said Rob Frasca, vice president of Barton Malow Canada. "Thank you for the collaboration and partnership during the planning phases and building of our projects, and to my team for being strong advocates of working safely and [showing] the leadership required to maintain a strong safety culture within the company." Powerline Safety Award. Enova Power's Charlie Leibold and Ryan Good received the Powerline Safety Award for their work developing educational resources to teach first responders how to identify and manage electrical hazards. Leibold and Good developed an interactive training presentation that has now been built into mandatory instruction for roughly 400 Region of Waterloo first responders, including area paramedics and firefighters. Since its implementation, the program has helped to keep electrical contacts and incidents during emergency responses in the region at zero. Consumer and Home Safety Award. Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) was honoured for its work through ESA's Continuous Safety Services program to strengthen contractor oversight and reach recurring hazards early across its housing network of 2,000 properties and 100,000 residents. The Consumer and Home Safety Award is presented to organizations that have displayed outstanding effort in preventing electrical hazards in homes and communities before putting residents at risk. "We are truly honoured and humbled," said TCHC. "This award belongs to all of us. It is a testament to what can be accomplished when organizations, teams, and individuals come together with a shared commitment to safety." Licensed Electrical Contractor Recognition Award. With this year's Safety Awards landing on his birthday, Conestogo Electric founder Robb Brohman received another reason to celebrate as his company was presented with the Licensed Electrical Contractor Recognition Award. The award recognizes contractors whose work strengthens both the trade and community across Ontario's electrical contracting landscape, with Conestogo Electric receiving the award for its efforts surround the workmanship, mentorship, and support of future electricians and skilled trades education across 50 years. For Brohman, this continued success would not be possible without the collaboration and effort of his team at large. "We do our work at Conestoga as a team - I'm only a member of it," he said. "The real strength of the team is in the 100 people that work for us, who show up every day with a smile and do their very best." Public Safety Officer's Special Recognition Award. The Public Safety Officer's Special Recognition Award was presented to Conestoga and Fleming College's Heavy Construction Equipment Operator Programs. The programs were honoured for nearly a decade of prioritizing electrical safety within their curricula; training which the ESA noted has empowered graduates to recognize electrical hazards, refuse unsafe work, and avoid major incidents. "I think everybody in the room understands the importance of safety in the trades," said Conestoga College's Adam Davies. "Partnerships like this allow us to make sure that our students, as they graduate, get out into their careers in the field for the first time with a strong safety culture." The ESA's public safety officer and director of data science, Patience Cathcart, closed out the awards portion by reflecting on the approach of progress and collaboration central to so many of the leaders recognized throughout the program. "I'm struck by what we've heard today. Each of our recipients is advancing electrical safety in a different way, but their work has something important in common: they saw an opportunity to make people safer, safer, and they acted on it," she shared. "That same idea has shaped electrical safety in Ontario for decades. We learn from what happens. We identify where risks exist. We share what we know, and, most importantly, we use that knowledge to prevent the next incident."