Введение
Электроэнергетическая компания, обслуживающая провинцию Онтарио, Канада.
Electricity transmission and distribution utility serving in Ontario, Canada
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Тим Ходжсон <small>Председатель совета директоров</small>
| отрасль = Электроэнергетика
| продукция = Передача и распределение электроэнергии
| выручка = 5,990 млрд канадских долларов (2017)
| чистая прибыль = 682 млн канадских долларов (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2,4%)
| численность сотрудников = 5 422 штатных сотрудника (2017), 2 018 временных, контрактных и неполных рабочих дней (2017), 7 682 пенсионера (2014)
| дочерние компании = Hydro One Networks Inc., Hydro One Remote Communities Inc., Acronym Solutions Inc. (ранее Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| сайт =
Electricity transmission and distribution utility serving in Ontario, Canada
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Hydro One Limited – электроэнергетическая компания, осуществляющая передачу и распределение электроэнергии в канадской провинции Онтарио. История Hydro One восходит к началу XX века и созданию Комиссии по гидроэлектроэнергии Онтарио (переименованной в "Ontario Hydro" в 1974 году). В октябре 1998 года провинциальное законодательное собрание приняло Закон о конкуренции в энергетике, который реструктурировал Ontario Hydro, разделив ее на отдельные организации, ответственные за производство электроэнергии, передачу/доставку и управление ценами, с конечной целью полной приватизации. В то время Hydro One была учреждена как корпорация в соответствии с Законом о корпорациях, а правительство Онтарио выступило единственным акционером. После первичного публичного размещения акций на Торонтской фондовой бирже в 2015 году правительство Онтарио начало продажу акций населению, с конечной целью, чтобы 60% компании принадлежало частным инвесторам. В отчете, опубликованном 2 декабря 2015 года Генеральным аудитором Онтарио, была выражена обеспокоенность по поводу продажи, указывая на увеличение числа отключений электроэнергии и старение оборудования Hydro One, которое находится "под очень высоким риском отказа". Оценочная стоимость необходимых ремонтных работ составила 4,472 млрд канадских долларов. Зона обслуживания
Electricity transmission and distribution utility serving in Ontario, Canada
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Hydro One является холдинговой компанией с четырьмя дочерними предприятиями, крупнейшим из которых является Hydro One Networks. Компания управляет 98% высоковольтной сети передачи электроэнергии по всей провинции Онтарио и обслуживает 1,4 миллиона потребителей в сельских районах провинции, являясь крупнейшей распределительной компанией Онтарио. Информация о системе
Electricity transmission and distribution utility serving in Ontario, Canada
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Напряжение линий электропередачи Hydro One составляет 500 000, 230 000 и 115 000 вольт переменного тока. Hydro One имеет соединения с Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (бывшая Niagara Mohawk Power) и New York Power Authority. Генераторы
Electricity transmission and distribution utility serving in Ontario, Canada
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Hydro One работает с сетью передачи и распределения, подключая к ней генерирующие мощности, управляемые Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power и рядом других частных компаний. Генераторы поставляют электроэнергию, вырабатываемую на гидроэлектростанциях, газовых, ветровых, солнечных и атомных электростанциях, предприятиям и населению по всей провинции Онтарио. У генераторов другие обязанности, чем у Hydro One. Мощность генераторов, подключенных к высоковольтной системе Hydro One, преобразуется до более чем 50 кВ (50 000 вольт). Генераторы, подключенные к сети передачи, зарегистрированы в Независимом операторе электрической системы (IESO). Линии электропередачи, подвешенные между металлическими опорами или бетонными столбами, встречаются реже, чем линии распределения, которые чаще всего подвешиваются между деревянными столбами. Распределительная система подключена к генерирующим мощностям Hydro One и поставляет электроэнергию, вырабатываемую на гидроэлектростанциях, ветровых и других объектах, предприятиям и населению по всей провинции Онтарио. Эти распределительные мощности работают при напряжении 50 кВ и ниже. Электросеть Онтарио состоит из 29 000 км высоковольтной сети передачи, которая поставляет электроэнергию крупным промышленным потребителям и муниципальным предприятиям, и 123 000 км низковольтной распределительной сети, которая обслуживает около 1,3 миллиона конечных потребителей, в основном в сельских районах и небольших муниципалитетах провинции. Более 75% заявок на подключение небольших генераторов поступает из сельской зоны обслуживания Hydro One вдоль распределительной сети компании. Хотя Hydro One подключила тысячи небольших проектов к сети, она приближается к техническим пределам проводов и оборудования в некоторых сельских районах. В этих районах есть две проблемы, которые ограничивают количество проектов, которые Hydro One может безопасно подключить, не подвергая сеть опасности. Первая проблема – физические ограничения линий электропередачи, а вторая – явление, называемое "островным режимом". В более густонаселенных районах провода Hydro One толще и рассчитаны на передачу большего количества электроэнергии. В сельских районах распределительные провода Hydro One тоньше и передают меньше электроэнергии, поскольку они были рассчитаны на обслуживание гораздо меньшего числа потребителей, чем в крупных городах. Эти тонкие линии безопасно и надежно поставляют электроэнергию сельским потребителям и способны поддерживать подключение небольших генерирующих установок, расположенных вдоль линии, но перегружаются, когда в сеть возвращается больше электроэнергии, чем линия рассчитана на передачу. В некоторых районах, где программа особенно популярна, многие генераторы хотят подключиться к одной и той же тонкой линии, но линия не может выдержать передачу такого количества электроэнергии. Вторая проблема связана с островным режимом. Распределительная система Hydro One умеет защищать себя в определенных условиях. Например, во время шторма, если на линию упадет дерево, система отключается, подобно автоматическому выключателю. Это защищает клиентов и сотрудников компании от случайного контакта с находящейся под напряжением линией, а также защищает бытовую технику, такую как телевизоры, от неконтролируемых скачков и падений напряжения. Кроме того, при возникновении неисправности линия должна быть обесточена. Также, когда солнечные панели подключены к таким линиям, они также должны быть отключены при возникновении неисправности на линии. Если они не будут отключены, электричество будет продолжать поступать от солнечных панелей ко всем точкам между панелями, что может создать опасную ситуацию, называемую островным режимом, которая может подвергнуть риску клиентов, сотрудников и оборудование, потребляющее электроэнергию с этой линии. Hydro One предотвращает островной режим, ограничивая количество генерации, подключаемой компанией в одном районе, что гарантирует, что нагрузка всегда превышает генерацию. В Онтарио перешли на интеллектуальные счетчики, которые могут поддерживать еще больше решений этих проблем. Используя существующую сеть компании и сотрудничая с клиентами, Hydro One изучает новые способы поставки более чистой электроэнергии, которую жители Онтарио помогают производить. История
Electricity transmission and distribution utility serving in Ontario, Canada
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Hydro One была создана на базе Комиссии по гидроэлектроэнергии Онтарио (HEPC или Ontario Hydro), которая была основана в 1906 году провинциальным законом о комиссиях по электроэнергии для строительства линий электропередачи для снабжения муниципальных предприятий электроэнергией, вырабатываемой частными компаниями, уже работающими на Ниагарском водопаде. Первым председателем был Адам Бек, министр без портфеля в провинциальном правительстве сэра Джеймса П. Уитни. Бек выступал за общественную электросеть. Первоначальной задачей комиссии было строительство линий электропередачи для снабжения муниципальных предприятий электроэнергией. Электроэнергия, передаваемая HEPC, уже вырабатывалась на Ниагарском водопаде частными компаниями. Также в 1906 году компания назначила Адама Бека председателем. Год спустя Бек и его коллега Уильям Пейтон Хаббард боролись за общественную собственность на компанию. Позже, в 1908 году, HEPC приобрела электроэнергию на Ниагарском водопаде и стремилась передавать эту электроэнергию по своим собственным линиям, которые в то время еще не были построены. Компания продолжала устойчиво расти в течение следующих нескольких лет, и к 1914 году HEPC построила свою первую собственную генерирующую станцию, расположенную на реке Северн. В начале 1920-х годов HEPC расширилась и стала сама распределителем электроэнергии. Компания теперь поставляла электроэнергию в сельские районы в дополнение к муниципальным предприятиям. В 1922 году на реке Ниагара был введен в эксплуатацию первый блок гидроэлектростанции Chippawa. После…
Electricity transmission and distribution utility serving in Ontario, Canada
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Tim Hodgson <small>Chair of the Board</small>
| industry = Electric utilities
| products = Transmission and distribution
| revenue = CA$ 5.990 billion (2017)
| net income = CA$ 682 million (2017)
OFN Power Holdings (2.4%)
| num employees = 5,422 regular employees (2017)2,018 temporary, contract and part time employees (2017)7,682 pensioners (2014)
| subsid = Hydro One Networks Inc. Hydro One Remote Communities Inc. Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom Inc.)
| homepage =
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (renamed "Ontario Hydro" in 1974). In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization. Hydro One was established at this time as a corporation under the Business Corporations Act with the Government of Ontario as sole shareholder. Following its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2015, the Government of Ontario began selling shares to the public with a final goal of 60% of the company being held by private investors. A report released on December 2, 2015, by the Auditor General of Ontario raised concern with the sale, indicating that power outages are increasing and that Hydro One's equipment is aging and "at very high risk of failing". The estimated cost of necessary repairs was $4.472 billion. Service territory
Hydro One is a holding company with four subsidiaries, the largest being Hydro One Networks. It operates 98% of the high voltage transmission grid throughout Ontario, and serves 1.4 million customers in rural areas across the province in its capacity as Ontario's largest distribution utility. System information
Hydro One's transmission line voltages are 500,000, 230,000 and 115,000 volts AC. Hydro One has interconnections with Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Minnesota Power, DTE Energy/ITC, National Grid (the former Niagara Mohawk Power) and the New York Power Authority. Generators
Hydro One works with the transmission and distribution network by connecting generating facilities operated by Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, and a number of other privately owned companies, to it. The generators deliver the electricity they generate at hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. The generators have different responsibilities than Hydro One. The power from generators connected to Hydro One's high voltage system is transformed to more than 50 kV (50,000 volts). The transmission connected generators are registered with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Transmission lines, strung between metal towers or concrete poles, are not as plentiful as their distribution lines, which are most commonly strung between wooden poles. The distribution system is connected to Hydro One's generating facilities. It delivers the electricity generated at hydroelectric, wind and other facilities to businesses and people across Ontario. These distribution facilities work at voltages of 50 kV or less. Ontario's electricity grid is made up of a 29,000 km high voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities and 123,000 km low voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end use customers mainly in rural service areas and smaller municipal communities in the province. More than 75% of the applications to connect small generators are in Hydro One's rural service territory along the company's distribution system. While Hydro One has connected thousands of small projects to the grid it is approaching their technical limits of the wires and equipment in some rural locations. In these areas there are two issues that limit the number of projects that Hydro One can safely connect without putting the grid in jeopardy. The first issue is the physical limits of the power lines and the second is a phenomenon called 'islanding'. In larger areas that are densely populated, Hydro One's wires are thicker and designed to deliver larger amounts of electricity. In rural areas, Hydro One's distribution wires are smaller, thinner and deliver a smaller amount of electricity because they were designed to serve a much smaller number of customers than in large urban centers. These thinner lines deliver electricity safely and reliably to rural customers and are able to support the connection of small generation projects spread across the line, but these lines become over loaded when more electricity is fed back to the grid than the line was built to deliver. In some areas where the program is extremely popular, many generators want to connect to the same thin line but the line is not able to support the transfer of so much electricity. The second issue is about islanding. Hydro One's distribution system knows how to protect itself under certain conditions. For instance, during a storm if a tree falls on a line, the system shuts itself down, similar to a circuit breaker. This protects the company's customers and employees from accidentally coming into contact with a live electrical line; it also protects appliances like televisions from uncontrolled surges and drops in voltage. In addition, when there is a fault, the line must be dead. Also when solar panels are attached to such lines, they must also be shut down when there is a fault on the line. If they are not shut down, electricity keeps flowing from the solar panels to all points between the panels. This can create an unsafe condition called islanding, which can put at risk customers, employees, and the equipment drawing power from that line. Hydro One prevents islanding by limiting the amount of generation that the company connects in one area; this ensures that the electrical load is greater than generation at all times. Ontario has moved to smart meters, which could support even more solutions to these problems. By using the company's existing network and working with customers, Hydro One is exploring new ways to deliver the cleaner electricity which Ontarians are helping to generate. History
Hydro One was created out of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or Ontario Hydro), which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara Falls. The first chairman was Adam Beck, minister without portfolio in the provincial government of Sir James P. Whitney. Beck had been an advocate for a publicly owned electricity grid. The commission's initial responsibility was to build transmission lines in order to supply municipal utilities with power. The power that was being transferred by HEPC was already being generated at Niagara Falls by private companies. Also during 1906, the company appointed Adam Beck as chairman. A year later, Beck and his colleague William Peyton Hubbard fought for the public ownership of the company. Later in 1908, HEPC purchased power from Niagara Falls and sought to transmit this power over its own lines, which at the time, had not been established. The company continued its steady growth for the next few years. and by 1914 HEPC built its first owned power generating station located on the Severn River. In the early 1920s, HEPC expanded further and became an electricity distributor itself. The company now transmitted to rural areas in addition to municipal utilities. In 1922 the company's first unit of the Chippawa hydroelectric development on the Niagara River began service. Upon the unit's completion in 1925, it was the largest generating station in the world. HEPC bought the generation and transmission assets of the Electrical Development Corporation, which was the last remaining private power company. In 1926, HEPC entered into a long term contract with Gatineau Power Company, located in Quebec. These contracts were needed to accommodate a growing demand for power and electricity. However, these same contracts were to become a source of controversy during the Great Depression when there was an overcapacity in the system. The development of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers was stalled by jurisdictional complications. The development of the rivers would have allowed access to a preferred source of power. In 1939 the Quebec contracts were reinstated and the development of the rivers were continued. In the late 1940s and early 1950s HEPC took a great leap forward with development of hydro electric potential along the St. Lawrence River. During the mid 1950s HEPC joined all its power stations and transmission systems into one network in order to become more efficient and flexible. Also during the 1950s, hydro electric development was supplemented by the construction of thermal coal fired power stations in Toronto. And by the end of the 1950s HEPC began construction of Canada's first extra high voltage (500,000 volt) transmission lines. This brought power from northern Ontario to demand in southern Ontario. However, these transmission lines would only come into service in 1967. And by the start of the 1970s all of Ontario's power systems had merged, creating a province wide grid. In 1974, the Power Corporation Act reorganized the system as a crown corporation called "Ontario Hydro", the name by which it was most usually known. In 1998, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) government of Mike Harris passed the Energy Competition Act which authorized the establishment of a market in electricity. In April 1999, Ontario Hydro was re organized into five successor companies: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company (later renamed Hydro One), the Independent Electricity Market Operator (later renamed the Independent Electricity System Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. The two commercial companies, Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, were intended to operate as private businesses rather than as crown corporations. By 2001, Hydro One had acquired 88 municipal utilities. In December 2001 the provincial government announced its intention to sell Hydro One under an initial public offering (IPO), however by April 2002 various groups in opposition to the plan challenged the government in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, forcing a halt to the IPO. In 2002, an electricity market began operating. However, critics questioned, among other things, whether the market was truly competitive or could ever become competitive, given that an electricity grid is not a private good. Public dismay at an increase in prices led the government of Harris's successor, Ernie Eves, to freeze electricity prices for residential and small business consumers. This freeze was maintained after the Liberal Party of Dalton McGuinty replaced the PC government in 2003. The freeze was removed and prices were raised in April 2004, and have been increased again subsequently. In 2017, Hydro One agreed to acquire U. S. energy company Avista for CA$6.7 billion in cash. In 2018, the annual compensation paid to CEO Mayo Schmidt became a campaign issue in the 2018 Ontario election. Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford promised to remove Schmidt if elected, although it was speculated that it would cost in severance payments under a clause of "change of control" in Schmidt's contract, which shareholders had approved in May. The PCs won the election and in July 2018, the newly elected government convinced CEO Mayo Schmidt to retire immediately. News reports indicated that Schmidt would receive a payment of in lieu of continuing benefits and would also be entitled to receive incentive bonuses for previous years' achievements, Hydro One stock with a value of approximately His annual pension was estimated as exceeding The government and other major shareholders in Hydro One then began the process of appointing an entirely new board of directors after accepting the resignation of all previous members. The new Board is searching for a chief executive to replace Schmidt. In the interim, CFO Paul Dobson is serving as acting CEO. In December 2018 the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission blocked the purchase of Avista, citing concerns about the independence of Hydro One from the provincial government. Hydro One paid Avista a $103 million termination fee. Restructuring
Ontario Hydro was restructured on April 1, 1999, into five separate entities: Ontario Power Generation, the Ontario Hydro Services Company, the Independent Electricity System Operator (originally named the Independent Electricity Market Operator), the Electrical Safety Authority, and Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation. On May 1, 2000, the Ontario Hydro Services Company was renamed "Hydro One Incorporated" and reorganized as a holding company with four subsidiaries:
Hydro One Networks Inc.
Hydro One Remote Communities Inc.
Hydro One Telecom Inc.
Hydro One Brampton. Between 1998 and 2000, Hydro One acquired 88 municipal electrical utilities. Many local/municipal distribution companies were also consolidated during this time. In May 2002, the provincial government launched an open electricity market, although generating and distribution remained under control of the government. From 2000 to 2017, Hydro One directly owned the distribution utility for the city of Brampton. This subsidiary operated separately from the main Hydro One corporation and operated only in the city of Brampton. Hydro One Brampton was acquired by Alectra Utilities on February 28, 2017. In August 2014, Hydro One acquired the assets and customers of Norfolk Power. Privatization
On October 29, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed rumours that the province planned to sell 60% of Hydro One ("broadening of ownership"), essentially completing the plan proposed by the PC government decades before. Some of the proceeds from the sale of shares would be used to begin financing of Premier Wynne's 10 year plan for public transit and infrastructure projects in addition to reducing the provincial deficit. The plan was criticized by many, including Stephen LeClair, the new financial accountability officer for Ontario. LeClair warned that the sale of an entity that generated a $750 million profit in 2014 would lead to a long term negative financial impact for the province. The sale will certainly provide short term benefits, generating an estimated total of $9 billion The estimated revenue will not all be a windfall for the provincial coffers however, since roughly $5 billion is earmarked to pay down Hydro One's $8.5 billion debt. This promise was made in spite of increasing demand for government services due to an aging population, at a time when " a slowing domestic economy are putting downward pressure on its revenue streams," according to Ed Clark, Wynne's chief advisor on government assets, as quoted in The Globe and Mail. The estimated proceeds from this IPO were expected to total $1.83 billion. Some consumer advocacy groups and some analysts have raised red flags, concerned with the risk of increasing electricity costs under a privatized Hydro One. "Internal polling done for the Wynne government — released under Access to Information — found that 73 per cent of Ontarians oppose the government's plans to privatize Hydro One, the key transmission arm of the original public utility," noted Linda McQuaig in a 2016 Toronto Star opinion article. On the other hand, Brady Yauch, executive director of the Consumer Policy Institute discussed the potential benefits in an opinion piece in the Financial Post'', including "lower rates for ratepayers". His premise is based on the potential increase in productivity of Hydro One under private control, "something that the government has failed to do adequately", bringing high salaries into line, and reducing pension liabilities in future, with employees contributing higher amounts to their pensions. "Given the government's performance over the last 15 years, it calls for hopeful optimism ", said Yauch. A secondary offering of 72.4 million Hydro One shares, equivalent to 14.5%, in April 2016 generated $1.7 billion in revenue for the provincial government. Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation purchased 9 million of the shares, giving it a 1.5% stake in Hydro One. After the offering, Ontario held 48.9% of Hydro One's common shares: 47.4% directly held by the government, and 1.5% held by Ontario Power Generation. The Province of Ontario is a shareholder of Hydro One with approximately 47.2% ownership at September 30, 2021.
Отношения между первыми народами и метисами
В рамках частичной приватизации Hydro One, правительство провинции объявило о продаже до 15 миллионов акций (2,5%) коренным народам и метисам Онтарио для "общей пользы". В январе 2018 года правительство Онтарио объявило о продаже более 14 миллионов акций Hydro One компании OFN Power Holdings, партнерству, контролируемому 129 общин коренных народов провинции. Эти акции представляли 2,4% от общего количества находящихся в обращении акций, что снизило долю правительства в компании примерно до 47,4%.
As part of the partial privatization of Hydro One, the provincial government announced it would sell up to 15 million shares (2.5%) to the indigenous and Métis nations of Ontario for "their collective benefit". In January 2018 the Ontario government announced it had sold over 14 million shares of Hydro One to OFN Power Holdings, a partnership controlled by 129 First Nations around the province. The shares represented 2.4% of outstanding common shares, reducing the government's stake in the company to approximately 47.4%.