THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT of Ontario in Canada has approved the sale of Hydro One, a provincially owned utility which owns the monopoly to distribute electricity in the province.
Hydro One, which has annual revenues of US$1.9B and US$6.3B in assets, was formed when Ontario dismembered the former Ontario Hydro into three entities responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the province.
The sale of Hydro One, expected to be the largest privatisation in Canadian history, is expected to open up the Province’s US$6.3B electricity market to competition.
Ontario government said the proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down utility’s debt which stands at about US$21.9B. The province still owns Ontario Hydro’s generation capacity through the company Ontario Power Generation.