Like most companies, the nature of their operations and what they consider most important can be divined from their staffing organization. The staffing at NOTL Hydro is similar to most local distribution companies (LDCs). However, as in most industries, as LDCs get bigger they not only have more staff but have more specialized staff. This can be taken to an extreme. I remember talking to a tax professional at one multi-national company who did not even know his company’s products.
With a total staff of 20, NOTL Hydro is not very big. As a result, most members of staff have multiple roles. For those that like variety and change, this is a benefit. For those that want to become specialists with a deep knowledge in a given field, this would not be a good fit.
The following is the staffing organization at NOTL Hydro:
Administration
This is the same as any company and consists of the senior management team as well as support functions like finance, IT and HR. A strong finance department is a requirement for any LDC due to its regulatory reporting requirements and its customer billing function. NOTL Hydro outsources most of its IT requirements due to its size and the level of sophistication required due to both the nature of its operations and the growing cybersecurity threats. NOTL Hydro does not have any HR staff but has access to an HR expert as a member of the CHEC group; an association of smaller LDCs.
Regulatory
Unlike most companies, NOTL Hydro does not have a sales and marketing department. As a monopoly and a utility, NOTL Hydro does not need to seek sales or customers; they come to NOTL Hydro naturally. Instead, NOTL Hydro is subject to a high level of regulations overseen by a regulator specific to the industry: the Ontario Energy Board. Most LDCs will therefore have a regulatory department. NOTL Hydro is not big enough to have its own regulatory department so this is a big part of the workload of the senior management team.
Lines
Every LDC has linemen or powerline technicians (PLT) as they are now called. PLTs are skilled trades similar to electricians (not the same thing), plumbers or welders. Becoming a PLT involves an apprenticeship program just like the other trades. PLTs are required to work on the hydro distribution lines whether they be installing new services, making repairs or engaging in regular maintenance. Hydro lines have high voltages so nobody should be making any contact with these lines other than PLTs.
There is also a vibrant industry of companies providing lines services on a contract basis. These are used by both LDCs and by private industry who may need a power line built on private property. LDCs will use contractors for projects they cannot manage internally, to assist at peak times and to avoid overstaffing internally. NOTL Hydro uses contractors for larger underground jobs where we do not have the inhouse expertise and for some large overhead jobs that require a larger crew.
Other Outside Services
There are a variety of other outside services required in addition to line crews. These include locators and civil work on underground jobs such as borers, vacuum truck operators and excavators. These services will either be contracted or staffed depending on the situation of the LDC. While LDC size is obviously a big factor it is not the only one; LDCs in more remote parts of the province will not always have access to many contractors so may need to bring certain skills in-house. NOTL Hydro has hired a locator, an excavator and a labourer in the past few years as the contractor situation changed and the volume of work made this a viable alternative.
Technical and Engineering
All work must be planned and designed before it can be performed. This is definitely the case for any work done on the hydro distribution lines. Given the volume of this work, almost all LDCs have a technical engineering department. This staff deals with planning for both internal jobs (line replacements, voltage conversions, expansions) and jobs done on behalf of customers. The latter will involve working with the professional representatives (electricians, engineers) of the customers. NOTL Hydro has a technical engineering department so as much of this work as possible is done in-house. For very large jobs or for jobs with more complicated features, such as smart grid equipment that is linked to our SCADA system, NOTL Hydro uses an external engineering firm with which it has a long-standing relationship.
Customer Service and Billing
These two services are often two separate departments but at NOTL Hydro they are combined into one. All LDCs have customer service and billing staff as that is a core competency,
The revenues from LDC bills fund the entire industry and around 80% of the funds collected by LDCs go to pay generators, transmitters, regulators and various other organizations beyond the LDC. LDCs do not mark-up the cost of electricity generation and these other costs. Instead, 100% of these costs flow through. LDCs have their own separate charges that they keep for the delivery of power. However, LDCs are 100% responsible for the entire amount of any billing errors or any bills not collected. The billing function is thus very important; especially as billing is getting more and more complicated with all the different options.
The customer service department is necessary to manage the LDCs relationship with its thousands of customers. This relationship will be a mix of online and personal service. NOTL Hydro believes the personal service touch remains a very important part of what we deliver which is why our doors are still open to the public. With the recent postal strike, we have never had more foot traffic.
Other Departments
As mentioned, the larger a company then the more departments they will have as roles become more and more specialized. Some examples of departments that are commonly found in larger LDCs are metering, safety and property management. As its name implies, metering takes care of all the customer meters. At NOTL Hydro this is managed by the Technical and Engineering Department with services related to the larger meters outsourced. NOTL Hydro does not have a safety department but that does not diminish the importance of this service. An outside consultant provides support to the Administration that is responsible for this. LDCs tend to have a fair bit of property. At NOTL Hydro this is also managed by Administration.
All of these departments work together to keep the lights on and the rates low.