Hydro One announces share sale plans

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Ontario’s publicly-owned electric utility has announced its initial public stock offering.

The province is about halfway through the process of selling 60 per cent of Hydro One. Today it issued a preliminary prospectus, which is basically a full accounting of what the company looks like, what it makes, and the potential risks. It’s what the government uses to sell Hydro One to potential investors.

Documents were filed with the Ontario Securities Commission and its counterparts, providing an overview of Hydro One, which lists $22.6 billion in total assets.

The sale of Hydro One is the biggest privatization of a Canadian public asset in a generation. Both of the province’s opposition parties oppose the sale, saying it will send already-high electricity rates even higher. But Ontario finance minister Charles Sousa insists that’s not the case.

“We all agree that there’s been some difficulty in regard to the operation of Hydro One as it is now. That has to be improved in order for us to find better governance, greater transparancy, greater control.”

“We’ve revamped the board, we’ve revamped the executive and we’re attracting some high power people to move the company.”

The province hopes to raise $9 billion dollars to help fund a 10-year, $130 billion program for public transit and infrastructure. Premier Kathleen Wynne has also promised to use $5 billion to pay down hydro debt.

CHCH’s Lisa Hepfner will have more on this story tonight on the Evening News at 6.