The Canadian company, Hydro One that is trying to purchase Avista Corp, our US utility, is not faring well in its own Province.
The Ontario Energy Board has turned down Hydro One’s plan to buy another Canadian energy company because they could not show how ratepayers would not be harmed by the merger, even though rates were frozen for ten years.
It seems the Canadian version of our Public Utilities Commissions care about their citizens even out to decades into the future. This no harm statute is even less stringent than ours in Idaho which requires a net benefit.
How can our Idaho PUC approve the Avista/Hydro One merger without any cost sharing or debt sharing formulas, exactly the reason why the Ontario Board would not approve the Canadian company to Canadian company deal?
Nonetheless, we cannot afford to be complacent about a looming decision. We must fight with all we can muster.
States Spokane, WA’s Tom Horn, member of the Avista Customer Group, “Avista is in the process of selling itself to a Canadian company, Hydro One whose major owner is the Province of Ontario. The approval of the sale was scheduled for mid-August 2018 but has been delayed due to management changes at Hydro One due to the Ontario Parliamentary election that resulted in a substantial change in governing philosophy in Ontario.
“Until her recent electoral defeat, the Premiere of Ontario was on record stating clearly on YouTube that this sale would be a vehicle to extend the green energy policy of the Ontario Liberal party to ‘other jurisdictions.’ Avista executives, considering their $50.5 Million shared severance package were fine with this.
“Can we wrest Avista from the control of these folks who would sell us out to a company controlled by a foreign government? Can Avista be taken over by a Public Utility District, PUD?
“There is a local precedent for that idea. It is of the same nature but a much smaller scale.
“In 1982, AVISTA (then Washington Water Power Co.) sold off its Spokane water utility companies to a French Company called Spokane Suburban Water Company, for $4.5 Million, with assurances that there would be no rate increases. Forty days after the sale was approved by the UTC, Suburban asked the UTC for a 22% rate increase, which was reduced to 13% by the UTC and granted about a year later. Two months after being granted the increase Suburban again requested the UTC for a rate increase, this time for 45.1% and the UTC granted them 38.2%. So, in less than 3 years after the sale, the UTC had granted a 51% rate increase. Neighbors across the street on different water systems were then paying substantially less for water. Citizens were outraged and formed Spokane County Water District #3 in 1986 and by condemnation purchased Suburban in 1988 for $7.9 Million. Suburban charged high water rates and made a 75% profit in less than 6 years. Kind of makes you wonder if this had not been the plan all along.”
Call, write, post at PUC’s comment line in Idaho, Washington and Oregon your displeasure with the proposed Hydro One/Avista merger.
Go to: AVISTACUSTOMERGROUP.ORG
Help us fight, we need resources, i.e. $$$$$
We are in a battle with globalists supported billion dollar multinational companies.
