We’ve been waiting for a few months now to find out whether or not Hydro Ottawa could reach a deal with Hydro One to acquire about 45,000 customers who live in the Ottawa area.
A letter today from Hydro Ottawa’s president confirms that there’s no deal.
“Unlike previous efforts to acquire these customers, Hydro One staff were very open and transparent with their financial information and the modelling that underpinned their valuation,” wrote Bryce Conrad in an email to the mayor and councillors. “While the process and the final valuation remains covered by a confidential non-disclosure agreement, Hydro Ottawa is prepared to acknowledge that the valuation placed on these customers by Hydro One is both valid and defensible. Unfortunately, and with regret, we are unable to conclude a commercial agreement with Hydro One to acquire these 45,000 customers in the outlying areas of the City of Ottawa.”
“While we are disappointed with this outcome, I can assure the shareholder that every effort was made over the past 6 months to correct and remedy this historical mistake,” he wrote. The full letter is included below.
There are a few places in Stittsville (like in Fairwinds North and on Lloydalex) where one side of the street belongs to Hydro Ottawa, and the other side is in Hydro One territory. In most cases, the Hydro One customers pay more for their electricity.
Earlier this fall, West Carleton councillor Eli El-Chantiry called the process “a complicated exercise”.
“Further complicated by changes to Hydro One’s governance model (the privatization of a portion of Hydro One) as well as the regulatory model within which the industry operates,” he said.
http://www.slideshare.net/stittsvillecentral/letter-from-hydro-ottawa-president-re-hydro-one-customers