PowerStream is the second largest municipally-owned electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

 distribution company in Ontario, delivering power to more than 325,000 residential and business customers in the communities of Aurora

Aurora, Ontario

Aurora is an affluent town in York Region, approximately 20 km north of Toronto. It is partially situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine, and is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario.Many Aurora residents commute to Toronto and surrounding communities.In the...

, Alliston

Alliston, Ontario

Alliston is a settlement in Simcoe County in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is part of the Town of New Tecumseth since the 1991 amalgamation of Alliston and nearby villages of Beeton, Tottenham, and the Township of Tecumseth...

, Barrie

Barrie

Barrie may refer to:* Barrie, city in Ontario, Canada* Barrie , Canadian federal electoral district* Barrie , provincial electoral district* Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford, former Canadian electoral district...

, Beeton, Bradford West Gwillimbury

Bradford West Gwillimbury, Ontario

Bradford West Gwillimbury, a town in south-central Ontario, in the County of Simcoe in the Greater Toronto Area on the Holland River. West Gwillimbury takes its name from the family of Elizabeth Simcoe, née Gwillim....

, Penetanguishene, Markham

Markham, Ontario

Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...

, Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill, Ontario

Richmond Hill is a town located in Southern Ontario, Canada in the central portion of York Region, Ontario. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, being located about halfway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe...

, Thornton

Thornton, Ontario

The Hamlet of Thornton is located in Essa, Ontario, with Essa having a population of 16901 people in 2006. Thornton is located in Ontario and is about 100 km north of Toronto, Ontario.- Places in Thornton :...

, Tottenham

Tottenham, Ontario

Tottenham is a community in the town of New Tecumseth, in south-central Ontario, Canada. It takes its name from its first postmaster, Alexander Totten. The Tottenham Conservation Area is a recreational facility in the village, which is also famous for its Bluegrass Festival...

 and Vaughan

Vaughan

Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...

, where the corporate headquarters are located.

It was formed as a result of the merger of Markham Hydro, Hydro Vaughan, and Richmond Hill Hydro that took place in 2004. The separate utilities had been created by the York Municipal Hydro-Electric Service Act in 1978. Since the merger, PowerStream also gained distribution territory in Aurora after purchased Aurora Hydro in 2005. In January 2009, the company merged with Barrie Hydro.

Electricity distributed by PowerStream is primarily provided by Ontario Power Generation

Ontario Power Generation

Ontario Power Generation is a public company wholly owned by the Government of Ontario. OPG is responsible for approximately 70% of the electricity generation in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Sources of electricity include nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, wind, and fossil fuel...

 and Bruce Power

Bruce Power

Bruce Power Limited Partnership is a Canadian business partnership composed of several corporations. It exists as a partnership between Cameco Corporation , TransCanada Corporation , BPC Generation Infrastructure Trust , the Power Workers Union and The Society of Energy Professionals...

 via Hydro One

Hydro One

Hydro One Incorporated delivers electricity across the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a Corporation established under the Business Corporations Act with a single shareholder, the Government of Ontario....

 transmission lines from various power plants in Ontario. The all-time peak load for PowerStream was 1,896 MW.

It is an incorporated entity, jointly owned by the City of Barrie, the City of Vaughan and the Town of Markham.

The CEO is Brian Bentz. The CFO is John Glicksman.

See also

• Hydroelectricity
  Hydroelectricity
  Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
  
  
• Alternative energy
  Alternative energy
  Alternative energy is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels....
  
  
• Utility company
• Toronto Hydro
  Toronto Hydro
  The Toronto Hydro-Electric System is the local distributor of electric power in the City of Toronto. In 2005 the utility served a peak load of over 5,000 MW and had nearly 600,000 residential and 70,000 commercial and industrial customers, and had around 1,600 employees. In 2005 the corporation...