Toronto: The Hydro One Board of Directors announced the appointment of Fiona Crean to the role of Ombudsman for Hydro One on October 22.
Having served most recently as the City of Toronto’s Ombudsman, Ms. Crean has achieved wide recognition in the area of dispute resolution and complaints investigation with service in the field spanning more than 25 years. Her background includes considerable multi-stakeholder experience in a variety of public settings, including the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, the City of Toronto, and York University as well as five years as the Chief Operating Officer of the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario.
“Fiona Crean is a highly regarded expert in the area of dispute resolution having successfully established ombudsman roles for other organizations,” said David Denison, Chair of the Board of Directors for Hydro One. “The entire Board of Directors looks forward to working with Ms. Crean and to the contributions she will make in advancing a strong service culture at Hydro One.”
In her role, Ms. Crean will “facilitate the resolution of otherwise unresolved customer complaints by providing an independent and impartial perspective and advice on any matters that are referred to her by Hydro One customers.” Ms. Crean will also establish an appeal process for unresolved complaints made by Hydro One customers to the Ontario Energy Board.
Ms. Crean will report directly to the Hydro One Board of Directors to reinforce the independence of her role. The appointment becomes effective November 17, 2015 and the Office of the Ombudsman is expected to be operative in the first quarter of 2016.