Are we Losing Guelph Hydro?
I have received a number of emails regarding the rumors surrounding Guelph Hydro fueled in part by some of the misleading editorials written by outspoken critics of the current Guelph City Council.
Gerry Barker recently wrote one of most ludicrous, misleading and inflammatory editorials that I have ever read on the issue which was echoed again by David Birtwistle (who as a reasonably intelligent person probably knows better but thought he would stir the pot anyways) a few weeks later.
A constituent wrote me with the following concerns:
I am shocked, and sadden that the Guelph Hydro Rate Payers are entertaining merging with Hamilton Horizon Rate Payers? Why are the Guelph Hydro Board of Directors pushing this merge through and ever so quietly? Money or Politics?
Why would Guelph Hydro, a very profitable company want to merge with one that is not as profitable and certainly does not have the assets that Guelph does?
Why Hamilton? The provincial government in their wisdom chooses Dundas, East and West Flamboro and Ancaster to merge with Hamilton. Are these communities jumping up and down for joy with that decision? Are they happy that their taxes have increased substantially but their services haven’t? Are those small communities happy with funding Hamilton’s economic future?
Hamilton recently merged with the St. Catharine’s community. I wonder how many St Catharine jobs were lost. How happy are those St. Catharine’s Hydro Rate Payers?
I do not live in either community but I really get the feeling that there is a bad smell about this merger and if Guelph’s City fathers can’t stand up to the Hydro Board of Directors, then goodbye Guelph Hydro and Hello to Hamilton Horizon.
I would like to share with you my reply.
There are significant pressures coming from many directions supporting mergers in the utilities sector. From what I understand, it is a question of when, not if Guelph Hydro will choose/ be forced into a merger. Given that prognosis, it makes sense to be proactive at the beginning rather than reactive towards the end.
The discussions taking place right now are for the purpose of determining IF it makes sense to merge with Horizon rather than planning or implementing a merger. At the end of the day City Council will make the final decision, not Hydro and not Horizon.
The reason for approaching Horizon include compatible business vision and strategy as well as the desire to keep as many of the assets in Guelph (such as the new office facilities) rather than having our assets sold off as a major part of the merger. We have also been told that Hydro approached some of our local neighbors and found that they were not interested in opening a discussion on the issue.
As part of the decision making process for council (should it come to that) we will be contacting St. Catherines council and rate payers to find out what their experience has been with the process and the outcome.
November 4th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Thank you for posting a link to these articles. I don’t receive the Mercury so I guess I miss out on the absolute rubish that is Gerry Barker.I hope that this is NOT indicative of the caliber of journalism at the Mercury and I REALLY hope that nobody buys into this GARBAGE !!! what a complete idiot!
Mike, you guys are a FANTASTIC change from the incompetent, destructive collection of jesters that ran our fine city into the ground for the last three years.
Thank you for bringing some clarity to the real issues regarding Guelph Hydro. This will undoubtedly be a very difficult issue for our City council to deal with.
Thank god we now have a council that works together for the best interests of our City rather than the old one which based policy upon personal likes and dislikes of the other councilors rather than the issues! I have the utmost faith in you guys!
Keep up the good work.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:54 am
If one were to let the dust settle a little, it would be easier to see what’s really going on here and who stands to loose what.
As with many things in life, just follow the money.
City Hall is terrified at the thought of loosing one of it’s biggest cash cows.
The profits from Guelph Hydro are put into general revenue at City Hall rather than being given back to the customers in lower Hydro rates.
The loss of these profits to the New merged company will mean that City Hall will either raise taxes or reduce spending.
I wonder what they will do!
February 14th, 2009 at 3:42 am
FYI….from the Barrie Examiner – Feb 13/09
Energy minister touts Ontario’s new green plan
Says utility mergers will help province
Large, strong electrical distribution companies will help power the province’s new Green Energy Act, George Smitherman told a Barrie crowd yesterday.
“They will develop more renewable energies and create a culture of conservation in our province,” Ontario’s energy and infrastructure minister told a crowd of hydro workers at the Army Navy & Air Force Club.
Through the Green Energy Act, the province hopes to create 50,000 new jobs from green-energy projects such as wind turbines, solar panels and biofuel plants. It’s expected to be unveiled next month.
Smitherman was speaking to about 350 employees of the newly merged PowerStream-Barrie Hydro, the first staff get-together since the Jan. 1 amalgamation.
Ontario’s deputy premier also reminded yesterday’s crowd that it was the province which encouraged the merger, a union which created the secondlargest electrical utility in this province.
Utility companies in Ontario had until Oct. 17 to buy each other out or merge to get a provincial transfer tax holiday, a savings of 33 per cent on any transaction. Barrie Hydro’s merger with PowerStream was approved by city council in September.
“The consolidation is a consolidation in which two strong utilities came together to create one that is even more powerful,” Smitherman said.
Owned by the municipalities of Vaughan, Markham and Barrie, PowerStream- Barrie Hydro now has 315,000 residential and business customers in Alliston, Aurora, Barrie, Bradford-West Gwillimbury, Beeton, Markham, Penetanguishene, Richmond Hill, Thornton, Tottenham and Vaughan.
Utility officials say that for now, customers will continue to pay the current distribution rates. But in three-to-five years, Barrie customers are expected to see lower rates.