VAUGHAN, ON--(Marketwired - October 30, 2014) - PowerStream received several accolades this past week including a Canada Award for Excellence on Thursday from Excellence Canada at the '2014 Canada Awards for Excellence'.

Presented at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, PowerStream was recognized as a Gold (Level 3) recipient for Excellence, Innovation, and Wellness, based on Excellence Canada's Progressive Excellence Program® (PEP). The award acknowledges the company's outstanding performance, leadership and commitment to excellence in innovation, quality, leadership, customer experience, workplace wellness and health & safety as well as being a socially, environmentally and economically responsible corporate citizen.

On Tuesday, PowerStream was recognized by the Canadian Occupation Safety magazine at the annual 'Canada's Safest Employers' Awards event for being one of Canada's safest employers and was named Silver Recipient for Safety in the 'Utilities and Electrical' category, as well as the Gold Recipient for Wellness.

Through its participation in Excellence Canada's framework for organizational excellence, and the ongoing recognition the company receives for safety and wellness, PowerStream continues to be seen as a best-in-class organization that strives for continuous improvement and overall excellence, which supports the company's corporate strategy as well as the overall well-being of its employees.

QUOTES

• "I am extremely proud that we were able to the attain Gold level in the Progressive Excellence Program by achieving a score of 89% when the standard requirement is 65%," said City of Vaughan Mayor and PowerStream Board Chair, Maurizio Bevilacqua. "We are now setting our sights on Platinum, the next level in this framework developed by Excellence Canada."

• "We are fully committed to the health, safety and wellness of our employees," said Brian Bentz, President and CEO of PowerStream. "Our achievement of these awards is reflective of our commitment to being a leading employer and a responsible corporate citizen."

BACKGROUND

• The Canada Awards for Excellence is an annual awards program that recognizes outstanding achievements by organizations across Canada. The 'Excellence, Innovation and Wellness Award' category is based on the Excellence Canada's 'Standards for Excellence, Innovation and Wellness.'

• In the past year, PowerStream has also won several awards including the Electricity Distributors Association 'Environmental Excellence Award' for the third time in six years, the United Way York Region's 'Community Campaign Spirit Award' for the second consecutive year and was named one of 'Canada's Greenest Employers'.

ABOUT POWERSTREAM

PowerStream is a community-owned energy company that provides power and related services to more than 370,000 customers residing or owning a business in communities located immediately north of Toronto and in Central Ontario. It is jointly owned by the Cities of Barrie, Markham and Vaughan.

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