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Be the first with the news that moves the market- Fortis (TSX:FTS) has announced the implementation of widespread mitigation policies as COVID-19 continues to spread
- The utilities company has restricted travel, meetings and office visitors, and has put in place a work from home program
- A pandemic response leaders’ group has also been established
- Instead of an in-person annual and special meeting, Fortis will switch to an online platform
- Fortis (FTS) is currently up 0.9 per cent, with shares trading at C$48.34 and a market cap of $22.4 billion
Fortis (TSX:FTS) has announced the implementation of widespread mitigation policies as COVID-19 continues to affect businesses worldwide.
Based in St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador, the electric and gas utilities company is one of the largest in North America. It currently has 9,000 employees in five Canadian provinces, nine US states and three Caribbean countries.
As COVID-19 continues to spread, Canadian authorities are encouraging increased caution for both individuals and organisations.
In line with the advice of public health officials, Fortis has announced that it will restrict all travel across its group of companies. It has also placed restrictions on group meeting and visitors to offices, and social distancing is being encouraged.
A “work from home” program has also been implemented, offering employees greater flexibility in performing their duties remotely.
Barry Perry, President and CEO of Fortis, said that this is an unprecedented time.
“Remaining focused on employee safety and delivering reliable energy to customers is how we can best support collective efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” he said.
Fortis has also established a “pandemic response leaders’ group” in order to facilitate the new policies. The group will also be responsible for communicating new policies as well as the latest information on the virus.
In today’s announcement, the company likened the COVID-19 measures to those of a storm or other major event that might impact Fortis’ operations. It said that existing business continuity plans offer a framework for maintaining operations.
“I’m proud of our team and how we are coming together to ensure the best response possible. We are proactive and coordinated in our approach,” Barry said.
In conjunction with the announcement of the new policies, Fortis also revealed that it will not go ahead with an in-person annual and special meeting. Instead, it will conduct the meeting online, and is scheduled for May 7.
Fortis (FTS) is currently up 0.9 per cent, with shares trading for C$48.34 at 11:10am EST.
