Liberals to sell off large chunk of Hydro One: report
Posted April 16, 2015 5:55 am.
Last Updated April 16, 2015 6:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Premier Kathleen Wynne is expected to announce a plan on Thursday to sell off 60 per cent of Hydro One, according to a report in the Toronto Star.
The province will retain a 40 per cent stake and other shareholders will be limited to a maximum 10 per cent ownership.
The Liberals are selling a chunk of the $16-billion utility as part of a plan to generate transit infrastructure money through the sale of Crown assets.
Wynne appointed TD Bank CEO Ed Clark to head an advisory group that looked at Crown assets such as Ontario Power Generation, Hydro One and the Liquor Control Board to find ways to maximize their value.
Clark’s report is also expected to recommend selling Hydro One Brampton and Hydro One Networks’ distribution arm, which will be combined into one company and sold for another $3 billion.
The government insists any money raised from asset sales would go to help pay for $130 billion in infrastructure and public transit projects over the next decade, and not to pay down the $10.9-billion budget deficit.
Wynne has earmarked $15 billion of the infrastructure pot for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
Other money-making ideas are expected to include auctioning off beer licences, which would give the green light to selling beer at about 300 grocery stores.
Clark also said in an interim report that he wants the foreign-own Beer Store to pay a fee for its virtual monopoly on 80 per cent of beer sales, so Ontario taxpayers get a “fair share” of its profits.
Wynne will reportedly act fast on the recommendations before Ontario’s budget announcement on April 23.
With files from The Canadian Press
