b'Electrical SafetyAuthoritys ResponseTO COVID-19By Josie Erzetic, Chief Regulatory Officer & General Counsel, Electrical Safety AuthorityT AsCanadabegantofeeltheeffectsoftheglobalME communities, including through associations like the ECAO, so ThispastMarch, pandemic,andformanybusinesses,governmentsandregulators,that we can understand the challenges faced by industry and what we including ESA, this required rapid adaptation to an entirely newcan do to help. Here is a recap of some of the actions we have taken to environment.anessentialservicedesignatedbytheOntariodate in partnership with others:government, ESA quickly adapted our service delivery: consideringi.ESA worked with industry partners to ensure much-needed vulnerable populations and precautions to stop the spread of the virus while continuing to safeguard the electrical safety of all Ontarians.domestic supply of critical PPE For example, ESAs Plan Review department expedited the plan Our guiding principle has been to stay focused on our vision, mission and values, and to hold ourselves accountable to the highest standardsreview requirements for a project that required the retooling of a of ethical and professional behaviour.manufacturing facility to produce COVID-19 face masks.ii. Enabled provincial efforts to expand capacity for emergency Our number one priority remained the same: to ensure the safety of our staff and communities, working with our Licensed Electricalhealth-care facilities and sheltersInApril,ESApublishedguidancedocumentstosupportthe Contractors,ourstakeholdersandthepublicatlarge.ESAstaff, including our call center staff, moved to a work-from-home model.expedited construction of Temporary Emergency Health Care New protocols, supporting social distancing and other measures toFacilities (TEHCF) and Temporary Residential Facilities (TRF). stop the spread of COVID-19, were also implemented for inspectorsESA leveraged its authority to allow deviations to the Ontario working in the field.ElectricalSafetyCode,whilerequiringanacceptablelevelof Ongoing communication, a solid business continuity plan, as well aselectrical safety for these facilities. the ability to implement new processes quickly and effectively wereTo ensure industry was prepared and informed, guidelines werekey tools for successfully mitigating risks and keeping our safety part- distributed widely to LECs and MEs. Contractor associations, ners informed. ESA immediately added a COVID-19 webpage forlike ECAO, were pivotal to our efforts to ensure that these guid-regular updates to address the changing circumstances of COVID-19.ance documents reached the contractor community. At ESA, we are proud of our continuing commitment to stop theThe guidelines were successfully applied at a number of facilities,spread of the virus and to maintain a robust electrical safety cultureincluding Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington (which built a in the province. We maintain an ongoing dialogue with the LEC andtemporary modular structure to increase its bed capacity).www.ecao.org20'