Saint John Energy

Saint John Energy provides the people of Saint John with the power they need to heat their homes, run their businesses and fuel industrial growth.

We respect our shareholder in the City of Saint John, and all of our customers, employees, partners and other stakeholders. We’re also committed to communicating with and engaging our stakeholders, and investing in our community.

As a part of how we do business, we hold ourselves accountable to three main pillars of sustainability: social responsibility, delivering economic value and environmental stewardship.

Within these three pillars, we have 10 Sustainability Focus Areas. We implement activities within each focus area, to provide balance and alignment with our community’s values.

Our Community Commitment

Saint John Energy has a long history of active community involvement, dating back to 1922. We are deeply committed to being a responsible corporate citizen by supporting areas of social need in Saint John, because it’s our home too.

Our three areas of focus are:

• Education – scholarships, bursaries and other programs to assist students in need
• Community Building – supporting organizations that have a broader mandate to support vulnerable neighbourhoods within Saint John as well as economic development in general
• Food and Warm Shelter – supporting organizations who address day-to-day needs of vulnerable neighbourhoods, specifically addressing food and shelter needs within our community

PALS Program

We are also a proud participant in the PALS (Partners Assisting Local Schools) program, which pairs local businesses with schools in vulnerable neighbourhoods to provide volunteer support and financial assistance. Our employees regularly volunteer with our PALS partner, St. Patrick’s School, located near our head office. 

Employee Volunteerism

Saint John Energy employees volunteer with dozens of local agencies, events and fund raisers. This commitment to our community translates into more than 2000 hours annually in service to our youth, our seniors, the environment and to various health and welfare causes.

HISTORY

We have a rich legacy to build on, with more than 90 years of excellence in energy solutions. At the same time, we are always looking forward, seeking new opportunities to innovate and improve the way we provide value to our customers and stakeholders.

We were formed in 1922 by the people of Saint John, for the people – as a result of a local group of citizens interested in having low-cost electric power for the city.  Since then, we have proudly served our community, offering rates that are consistently among the most competitive in Atlantic Canada. 

The following timeline describes the key milestones that have shaped our organization over the decades.

1922: We were established by Saint John Common Council on December 5, 1922 as the Power Commission of the City of Saint John, or “Civic Hydro.”

1923: Our first substation transformer was energized at Cranston Avenue, staffed by three power operators providing 24-hour supervision.

1924: By the end of the year, our customers numbered 1,842.

1949: After Civic Hydro merged its power system with another Saint John-based distribution system the previous year, our energy sales jumped to 70-million kilowatt hours.

1963: We began offering our Water Heater rental plan – a popular customer service to this day.

1976: On February 2, we overcame one of the largest winter storms in our history, known as “The Groundhog Gale.”

1990: We began to use handheld electronic meter reading devices.

1997: We changed our brand name from 'Civic Hydro' to 'Saint John Energy,' to proudly identify with the community we serve.

2001: After a successful audit of our Environmental Management System, we received ISO 14001 certification, an international standard of effective environmental performance.

2003: Saint John Energy’s SCADA system was used for the first time to remotely operate a substation’s breakers.

2004: A total peak demand of 289 Mega Volt-Amperes (MVA) was recorded, our largest peak to date.

2006: For the sixth year in a row, we were rated as one of the top five utilities in Canada (<500 employees category) by the Canadian Electricity Association for our health and safety record.

2008: After more than 80 years based in Uptown Saint John, we moved to our current headquarters on the West Side of Saint John, 325 Simms Street.

2012: We celebrated 90 years of service to the people of Saint John.

2013: Our Westmorland substation was energized allowing us to better serve the growing retail area in East Saint John through increased capacity and reliability.

2014: At the Union Street Substation, we replaced the aging infrastructure and invested in the latest technologies. A new transformer was installed to increase capacity and reliability for our growing uptown area.

2015: At the Raynes Ave Substation we developed a modern environmentally safe station with increased capacity providing reliable ongoing customer supply for the lower west side and for future load growth. Upgraded all 7000 streetlights in the City of Saint John to high efficiency, low energy consumption LED lighting. Installed 26 photovoltaic technology lights along the 1.38km Lily Lake Trail in Rockwood Park.