Ontario has cancelled the projected sell off of transmission giant Hydro One after enormous pressure from the public.
Ontario has cancelled the projected sell off of transmission giant Hydro One, and will not now sell even a minority interest, after enormous pressure from the public to maintain control of the company at state level.
The government originally planned to sell 100 per cent of Hydro One in the private sector, in what would have been the largest privatisation in Canadian history, but after a court decision and a public outcry it scaled down its ambitions to selling a 49 per cent stake.
After liberalisation of the market was completed in the summer of last year, hydro rates started to rise, leading the government to cap charges for most consumers at 4.3 cents. This seems to have given private investors cause for concern, leading them to demand more control over the generator than the government was willing to part with. As the $2 billion or more to be raised by selling was not needed to balance the province’s budget, the issue became one of ‘retaining enough control to protect consumers’ in the words of provincial premier Ernie Eves in January.