Markham Hydro da, Ontario Bölgesi 34 Nolu vergiyi çıkardığı için, Markham kasabasının kendi enerji üretim sistemini mali açıdan nasıl karşılayabileceğini tasarlamakla meşguldü. Çıkan yasa ile Ontario elektrik pazarı rekabete açılmış oldu. Sonuç olarak, yerel enerji tesisleri anonimleşmeleri sağlandığından, daha önceden We restored. 1 can stili visualize the images of the transmission towers bent double and distribution poles shattered by the weight of ice. So the town of Markham, like many communities, sent help in the form of emergency supplies and generators. When we realized just how serious the situation was, we also volunteered our own utilities staff and equipment to clear fallen trees and rebuild the distribukendilierini kapılarını kapatmış olan bir dizi ticaret girişiminde bulunma hakkını artık have reduced the Town's debt to zero; enjoy one of tion system. the lowest tax rates in the Greater Toronto Area; have the highest Most importantly tor Markham, the storm served as a well-up cali. How secure was our infrastructure? And how would we cope with such a huge storm? Town officials like others and me wondered. elde etmiş bulunuyordu. Bu girişim alanlarından biri de, bölgesel enerji per capita education level in Canada; and rank among the top five locations for per capita income. üretimiydi. Ne mutludur ki, Markham Hydro bunu başarmak için doğru konuma sahipti. Yıllardır başarıyla çalışmıştı, borcu yoktu ve ihtiyati durumlar için bankada yeterli parası bulunuyordu. Daha da önemlisi, yönetim hem kentin çıkarlarını düşünüyordu, hem de tam bir girişimci ruhuna sahipti. Böylece ihtiyaç (fırtınadan korunma), fırsat (I BM) ve kapasite (Markham Hydro) açısından neredeyse kolları açık bizi bekleyen bir durum yakalamıştık. Markham Bölgesel Enerji böyle kuruldu ve IBM yazılım geliştirme merkezinin Markham'a yerleşmesini sağlayarak büyük bir başarı kazanmış oldu. ...:ı=w..._JJZ.::n:=s � lce storms and IBM software are not things you would likely tie together in any sort of word association game. But in Markham, where I am Mayor, 1 can tel1 you they are linked indelibly in the minds of those who care about sustaining our vibrant community in the future. Let me explain. in January 1998, a severe ice storm hits Eastern Ontario and parts of Quebec. it caused widespread and prolonged power interruptions. Many residents were forced out of their homes into community shelters as they waited tor electrical service to be Freezing rain and ice pellets occasionally hit the Toronto area and we have experienced what we thought were serious outages as a result of icing. But those interruptions were measured in hours, not days and weeks. No one in our community had ever before had to leave their homes or rely on emergency aid to survive. So, in the wake of that ice storm, our utility and town officials considered what could we do to mitigate such an event should it strike close to home. Markham quickly hit on the idea of local generation, as a back up should the transmission system become disabled. During !his time and through the middle to lale 1990's, we were also working on re-invigorating Markham's economy. What was largely a farming community until mid-20th century had grown to a mainly urban, multi-cultural collection of neighbourhoods of over 200,000 people, where 65 languages could be heard. Through concerted planning and incentives we have attracted over 850 high tech companies, many bringing head offices with them including I BM Canada's. (With much justification we cali Markham Canada's high-tech capital.) in the process, we have reduced the Town's debi to zero; enjoy one of the lowest tax rates in the Greater Toronto Area; have the highest per capita education level in Canada; and rank among the top five locations tor per capita income. To maintain that momentum, we saw an opportunity with I BM Canada. it had laken on the mandate to become I BM's world centre tor software development. So, it was looking tor a minimum of 100 acres to establish a huge software development laboratory that would eventually house 5000 employees. Offers poured in to I BM- from 36 different sites in Ontario as well as from lndia, lreland and other European locations. But it wasn't a particular advantage to us to already be home to IBM Canada's 8000 headquarters employees. The company was leery of putting all its eggs in one basket. Yet we knew !hat ECOGENERATION WORLO �
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcyMTY=