Civil engineer to chair Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority (ESA)
July 31, 2024
By Peter Saunders
Photo courtesy ESA.
Effective tomorrow (Aug. 1), Arjan Arenja, P.Eng., will serve as the new chair of the board of directors for Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority (ESA), an administrative authority that acts on behalf of the provincial government.
Arenja earned his BASc in civil engineering from the University of Waterloo and his executive MBA from Ivey Business School at Western University. His experience in engineering, construction, electrical generation and safety and corporate governance has included senior management roles with EXP, Bruce Power and Royal Group Technologies. He recently joined the jury for the 2024 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards.
Elected to ESA’s board in 2019, Arenja has chaired its audit and investment committee and its people, culture and governance committee. He has also chaired Engineers Canada’s human resources (HR), CEO search and finance, audit and risk committees.
In his new role at ESA, for which he was selected from among existing board members, he succeeds outgoing chair Christopher Hopper.
“Arjan’s experience in engineering, construction and board governance made him an excellent candidate for this role,” says Hopper.
ESA administers electrical safety regulations, licenses electrical contractors and master electricians, supports electrical safety training and education and oversees the safety of electrical products and electricity distribution systems.
