Save The Toronto Bluffs Granted Intervenor Status at Ontario Energy Board Hearing into TO Hydro's Streetlight Asset Sale
I have been granted Intervenor status on behalf of Save the Toronto Bluffs at the Ontario Energy Board hearing into Toronto Hydro Energy Services (a 100% owned subsidary of Toronto Hydro Corporation) proposed sale of it’s streetlight assets to a numbered shell company owned 100% by Toronto Hydro Electric System (which is 100% owned by Toronto Hydro Corporation) for $60 Million dollars. Basically Toronto Hydro Corporation is looking to sell itself something it already owns, and with that ‘sale’ $60 million dollars will move from Toronto Hydro Electric System, the regulated entity that distributes power in the City of Toronto to it’s unregulated, financial loser arm, Toronto Hydro Energy Services.
Toronto Hydro Electric System employees and trucks already service these lines, but Toronto Hydro Corporation claims safety enhancements can be made by selling something they already own to themselves and continuing to use assets they already own and employees they already employ to continue to service these poles, they too already own.
You may remember these poles from those horrible incidences over the winter where family pets and small children were being electrocuted, and Toronto Hydro Energy Services failed to respond for months, until publicly humiliated into doing so.
Originally the poles were owned by the City of Toronto, for decades in fact, until David Soknacki as David Miller’s first budget chief ran out of money needed to balance the budget and decided to sell the front lawn of the Ontario Science Centre to the Provincial Government and sell the City’s streetlights to Toronto Hydro Energy Services for the remaining $60 million he needed. The best part was then too, even though it was already Toronto Hydro trucks servicing this infrastructure enhanced safety was cited as a benefit. That was before the tragic death of family pets, and the electrocution of small children brought on by poor maintenance, a lack of understanding of the infrastructure and a denial of the problem.
Moving these poles into Toronto Hydro Electric Services and licensing them as part of the distribution system for Toronto (which they are not) would move the liability directly onto the shoulders of rate payers, in addition to allowing the City to cease paying for the upkeep of these poles or their energy usage and instead passing those costs directly onto residential, commercial and industrial customers of Toronto Hydro.
I am looking forward to using the opportunity to be an Intervenor at these hearings to seek evidence from Toronto Hydro Energy Services, Toronto Hydro Electric System, the shell company and Toronto Hydro Corporation to determine the merit behind the enhanced safety claims, the merit of an internal wealth transfer, and the impacts this could have on customer’s bills.
Members of Save the Toronto Bluffs will be seeking to represent the interests of all Torontonian ratepayers at the Ontario Energy Board hearing and will be fighting to keep unnecessary increases to your bills from happening in addition to forcing transparency on a corporation in desperate need of an airing out.
Tags: City of Toronto streetlight sale, City of Toronto streetlights, Intervenor Status Ontario Energy Board, Save the Toronto Bluffs, Toronto Hydro Corporation, Toronto Hydro Electric System, Toronto Hydro Energy Services, Toronto Hydro Streetlight Assets
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