Milton Hydro Named Finalist for Excellence in Innovation Award at 2026 Milton Excellence Awards. Winners Announced Oct 21!

Milton Hydro is proud to announce that it has been named a finalist for the Excellence in Innovation Award at the 2026 Milton Chamber of Commerce Milton Excellence Awards. The winner will be announced at the Milton Excellence Awards Gala on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at RattleSnake Point Golf Club.
The recognition highlights Milton Hydro's transformative "From Whiteboards to Workflows" initiative, which modernized the way utility work is planned, coordinated, and delivered across the organization.

The finalist designation follows Milton Hydro's 2025 win in the same category, when the utility was recognized for its AI-enabled OMNI-channel customer service platform that transformed how customers interact with their local utility. That achievement, combined with this year's recognition, reflects Milton Hydro's ongoing commitment to innovation that benefits both customers and employees.

"At Milton Hydro, innovation is about finding better ways to serve our customers, support our employees, and prepare for the future of our growing community," said Troy Hare, President and CEO, Milton Hydro. "We're honoured to once again be in a strong group of finalists for the Milton Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Innovation Award. This recognition reflects the creativity, collaboration, and commitment of our team as we continue to modernize our operations and deliver exceptional service to our customers."
 

From Whiteboards to Workflows

Launched in January 2025, the initiative replaced traditional scheduling methods that relied on whiteboards, spreadsheets, emails, and paper-based tracking with a centralized digital platform.

What began as a tool to support Operations quickly evolved into an enterprise-wide solution connecting Operations, Engineering, Stores, Administration, and Leadership. By creating a single source of truth for scheduling, work coordination, and resource planning, the platform improved visibility, strengthened collaboration, and enabled faster, more informed decision-making across the organization.

The initiative's success was driven not only by the technology itself, but by Milton Hydro's strategic decision to scale the solution across departments while focusing on user adoption, training, and continuous improvement.

Delivering Measurable Results

The modernization effort has generated significant operational, safety, and customer service benefits, including:

• More than 300 automation rules generating over 10,000 automated actions each month
• Reduced administrative effort through streamlined digital workflows
• Approximately 12 labour hours saved daily through improved materials coordination
• Enhanced visibility into crews, equipment, materials, and project schedules
• Faster, data-driven decision-making through real-time dashboards and reporting
• Improved communication and coordination across teams

The platform has also strengthened health and safety by improving job planning, increasing resource visibility, and ensuring employees have access to current operational information before work begins. This helps reduce risks, improve preparedness, and support safer execution of field work.

Recognized Beyond Milton

The impact of the initiative extends beyond Milton Hydro. Recognizing its value to the broader electricity sector, Milton Hydro presented its findings at the 2026 Electricity Distributors Association EDIST Conference, where the organization's approach to scheduling modernization generated considerable interest from utilities across Ontario.

By sharing lessons learned and practical implementation strategies, Milton Hydro is helping establish a new benchmark for operational modernization within the utility industry.

Celebrating Excellence in Milton

The Milton Excellence Awards Gala will recognize outstanding businesses, organizations, entrepreneurs, volunteers, and community leaders from across Milton. Award categories include:

• Small Business of the Year
• Mid-Sized Business of the Year
• Large Business of the Year
• Not-for-Profit of the Year
• Entrepreneur of the Year
• Best Workplace Award
• Excellence in Innovation Award
• Joyce Hagevik Volunteer of the Year Award
• Citizen of the Year Award
• Lifetime Achievement Award

Milton Hydro is honoured to be among the finalists for the Excellence in Innovation Award, alongside Gordon Food Service and Knight School Inc.

Congratulations to all the finalists and eventual winners whose innovation, leadership, and community impact continue to make Milton a thriving place to live, work, and do business.