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Our long-term plan: 2022 priorities

Our long-term plan has four focus areas — People, Organizational Excellence, Community, and Growth — each carrying priorities that are assessed and updated annually to ensure the plan both evolves and maintains its trajectory over successive ten-year planning periods.​​

The immediate 2022 priorities for our long-term plan demonstrate the clear ties to our ESG agenda.

Pe​ople

  • Pandemic response and safe reintegration of employees at facilities
  • Launch of the Where We Work hybrid work program

Operational Excell​ence

  • Pursuing funding and opportunities for grid transformation
  • Implementing the Advanced Meter Infrastructure Plan for Water Canada
  • Consolidating teams and resources from Water and Drainage in a shared facility
  • Moving towards the greening of EPCOR’s fleet

Community

  • Progressing our lead service line replacement program on priority properties in Edmonton
  • Completing projects to green the electricity supply for Edmonton operations
  • Maintaining effective relationships with our sole shareholder

Growth

  • Exploring the potential for a renewable natural gas project at Edmonton’s Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant
  • Advancing major water projects in Arizona and Texas
  • Developing the finance structure for our major projects

A sustainability mindset for the long term

In 2021, the board and executive reviewed the priorities within our long-term plan and what lies ahead for our ESG journey. This resulted in a vision for EPCOR in 2031, as a premier essential services company, retaining outstanding talent across our workforce, creating value for our stakeholders, and achieving our mission to provide clean water and safe, reliable energy to the communities that count on us.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Realizing this vision will take fully engaged teams across the organization, achieving a range of priorities and measures, including:​

  • Top decile performance on safety and employment engagement
  • Customer satisfaction levels that stand above the industry within our markets
  • Demonstrated leadership in source water protection and improving resilience of our infrastructure
  • Reductions in our environmental footprint and increased support towards building climate resilient communities
  • The evolution of our workforce to become more reflective of the diversity of the communities we serve, and the purpose and values we live every day
  • Ongoing delivery of reliable and affordable services to customers in growing communities across our footprint
  • Sustained growth that maintains our position as one of the top three investor-owned water utilities in North America​


When we say t​hat our communities count on us and we count on each other, we mean it in ​​​every aspect of what we do.

Our long-term planning process has evolved to incorporate this spirit, as well as our sustainability commitments.​

The deliberate integration of our ESG agenda into our long-term plan not only helps guide our teams and drive us toward real progress for communities, it helps with our ability to seek out and invest in meaningful projects.

Learn more about our ESG journey​

Pursuing growth and providing value – 2021 performance update

As part of the long-term planning process, we consider opportunities where EPCOR can demonstrate its strengths in the industry across North America, bringing experience, innovation and commitment to jurisdictions that require solid management of utilities and safe, reliable services for their customers. This past year saw EPCOR do just that.

In the U.S., we finalized the acquisition of Johnson Utilities, now referred to as the San Tan operations, including water treatment and distribution, and wastewater collection and treatment. We also completed the latest expansion at the Luke 303 Wastewater Reclamation Facility in Arizona, were selected to develop a new leading-edge wastewater facility for Lake Oswego, and are starting the Pecan Wastewater Reclamation plant expansion in the San Tan Valley.

As these projects further established EPCOR’s value in the utility sector in the southern U.S., our time in owning and operating the water utility system in Bullhead City came to a close. This was driven by a two-year process in which Bullhead City pursued expropriation of the utility for operation and management by the municipality. Following the posting of a bond in mid-2021, and assessment to determine fair value for purchase of the utility system, EPCOR and Bullhead City mutually agreed on a settlement and concluded the process in early 2022.

In Canada, we entered into a 30-year agreement with Ontario Power Generation to develop and operate a water treatment plant that will provide ultra-pure demineralized water to the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. In Ontario’s Southern Bruce region, we reached nearly 300 kilometres of installed pipeline as part of our work to bring natural gas to industrial, agricultural and residential customers; and in mid-2021, the province of Ontario announced that EPCOR will receive $20-million in funding for a proposed project to extend natural gas service to customers in the municipality of Brockton.

As we move forward, the board and senior leadership will continue its oversight of our Enterprise Risk Management framework, identifying, managing and monitoring risks that may impact EPCOR’s operations and long-term plans.

With these measures in place, we will consider investments where we can bring proven expertise and valuable service to communities, and make investments in renewable energy generation that support our commitment to reducing our environmental footprint and demonstrating leadership in sustainability.

Learn more about our operational areas​
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