Gerry Smallegange
As President and CEO of Burlington Hydro Electric Inc, Gerry Smallegange oversees a utility recognized for customer service excellence and innovation.
Burlington Hydro has consistently met or surpassed mandated standards for electricity reliability, service responsiveness and safety.
Gerry has played a key role in Burlington Hydro success in important aspects of the operation, most notably distribution automation and grid modernization. In his past role as Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of BHEI, Gerry oversaw a 5-year implementation of switching automation technology to protect mission critical community assets. This work resulted in accolades for Burlington Hydro including the 2008 Innovation Award for Customer Service from the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA) and the Engineering Project of the Year Award from the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.
Gerry is positioning BHI to provide leadership and customer value through the integration of renewables (sun and geothermal) with traditional sources of electricity. This has become increasingly important from a provincial and regional perspective with the passing of the Green Energy Act. Under Gerry’s leadership, BHI is committed to being the leading distribution utility in Smart Grid development within Ontario. BHI aspires to be in a position to offer its customers more solutions and options to manage their electricity use and electricity costs than any local distribution company in the Province.
Gerry leads all aspects of GridSmartCity™ www.gridsmartcity.com, the utility’s forwarding thinking vision to begin transforming today’s electricity system into the Smart Grid of tomorrow. GridSmartCity™ has earned international attention for Burlington Hydro and Halton Region by showcasing distribution automation, grid modernization and renewable energy innovation. This is highlighted by the April, 2010 launch of Burlington Hydro’s Pure Electric Vehicle Demonstration Project which is studying Canada’s 1st all-electric fleet vehicle. Partnering with BHI in the project are the University of Waterloo, McMaster University and a mosaic of smart grid and renewable energy industry innovators.
Gerry takes an active role in the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA) as Chair of the Upper Canada District. He also presents and participates in several leading industry conferences focusing on utilities as enablers of smart grid development and the impetus for local and regional green energy innovation.
Gerry demonstrates by example, BHI's value to be actively involved in the community. He is a member of the Council of Governors of the YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford, where together with other community leaders, he provides advice to the board on matters of policy and strategic direction. As Co-Chair for the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign, Gerry is a passionate supporter of raising financial support for children, teens and families who are unable to afford the full cost of participation in a YMCA program or activity.
In 2010, Gerry was elected to the Board of Directors of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC). The Board provides strategic direction to the organization and the development and delivery of the City’s economic development program. BEDC is governed by a 20 member Board of Directors representing a diverse cross section of the Burlington business community. Gerry’s election as a director of the BEDC and BHI's recent recognition as the newest strategic partner of Team Burlington, acknowledges a commitment to the success of Burlington from many vantage points. including profiling electricity distribution automation, power reliability and green energy as powerful differentiators for the city.
He is a graduate of the University of Waterloo, a registered professional engineer in the province of Ontario, and holds a Masters of Business Administration degree.
He resides in Burlington with his wife and four children.
