The 20th Annual Ontario Electrical Safety Report (OESR) is one of the few documents that compiles and publishes electrical safety data every year. The OESR is the only document of its kind in Canada and is recognized as a standard of rigorous safety reporting, offering comprehensive data and analysis that helps the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) make Ontario a safer place to live, work and play free from electrical harm.
Every incident described in the OESR represents a tragic event. The hope is that by publishing the report, ESA can prevent these tragedies in the future. ESA focuses on the risk factors of these events to help drive its efforts to ensure they do not occur again. This information offers a consistent source of reliable data that allows the organization to focus on reducing the areas with the highest risk.
In 2020, ESA launched its new strategic plan, “Safely Powering Tomorrow,” with a focus on risk-based prioritization of electrical harms. Going forward, ESA will manage harms from a harm lifecycle perspective.
In Ontario, electrical-related fatalities occur at the rate of less than 1 in a million with a downward trend. This is a great accomplishment and demonstrates that a focus on safety works. There were four fatalities in 2020, slightly lower than previous years, which may be a reflection of the changing behaviors due to the pandemic. The fatalities are largely concentrated among males under 30, indicating there is education and awareness work to be done with this group.
The OESR is compiled with the cooperation and participation from the Office of the Chief Coroner; Ministry of Labor, Training and Skills Development; the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management; the Canadian Institute of Health Information; and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario.
As an administrative authority acting on behalf of the government of Ontario, the ESA is responsible for administering specific regulations related to the Ontario Electrical Safety Code, the licensing of electrical contractors and master electricians, electricity distribution system safety, and electrical product safety. ESA works extensively with stakeholders throughout the province on education, training and promotion to foster electrical safety.
