Alectra Explained

Alectra Incorporated
Type:Municipally owned corporation
Industry:Electricity distribution
Predecessors:Enersource
Horizon Utilities
PowerStream
Hydro One Brampton
Guelph Hydro
Founded: in Mississauga, Ontario
Hq Location City:Mississauga, Ontario[1]
Areas Served:see below
Key People:Brian Bentz (President and CEO)
Owners:City of Mississauga (26.61%)
City of Vaughan (20.50%)
City of Hamilton (17.31%)
City of Markham (15.00%)
City of Barrie (8.37%)
City of Guelph (4.63%)
City of St. Catharines (4.63%)
[2]
Num Employees:1,600
Num Employees Year:2017, projected
Subsid:Alectra Utilities Corporation
Alectra Energy Solutions Inc.

Alectra Incorporated, through its subsidiary Alectra Utilities Corporation, is an electricity utility and distributor that serves several municipalities in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario. It is a municipally-owned corporation with shares in varying amounts held by the municipalities which owned its predecessor companies.

When it was founded, Alectra was described as the second largest municipally-owned electricity utility in North America after the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.[3] As of January 2019 it is the largest municipally-owned electricity utility in Canada, by number of customers served.

Formation and expansion

Alectra was formed on January 31, 2017 by the merger of the municipally-owned utilities Enersource (serving Mississauga), Horizon Utilities (serving Hamilton and St. Catharines), and PowerStream which served Aurora, Alliston, Barrie, Beeton, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Penetanguishene, Markham, Richmond Hill, Thornton, Tottenham and Vaughan.[4] The initial formation of the company was completed with the acquisition of Hydro One Brampton from the provincial government's Hydro One on February 28, 2017.[5] Guelph Hydro (serving Guelph and Rockwood) merged into Alectra on January 1, 2019.[6] [7]

Following its formation, Alectra continued to hold the 50% ownership stake formerly held by PowerStream in Collus PowerStream (which services Collingwood and surrounding area) until 2017.[8] Alectra announced on November 9, 2017 that it was selling its ownership stake in Collus PowerStream back to the Town of Collingwood, with the Town announcing that it was selling Collus PowerStream to EPCOR Utilities.[9]

Corporate organization

The company is governed by a 14-member board of directors representing the municipalities and other shareholders which owned its predecessor companies. Municipal representatives make up 13 of those directors, consisting of: 4 directors from Mississauga, 3 from Vaughan, 2 from Hamilton, 2 from Markham, 1 from Barrie, 1 from St. Catharines, and 1 from Guelph.[10] [11]

Employees of Alectra's predecessor companies had previously been represented by the Power Workers' Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and Unifor. Following a vote on June 28, 2017 the majority of unionized employees of Alectra and its subsidiaries agreed to be represented solely by the Power Workers' Union.[12]

Service area

Single-tier municipalities

Niagara Region

Peel Region

Simcoe County

Wellington County

York Region

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Simon. Chris. Simcoe and York residents will save through hydro merger: Barrie mayor. April 21, 2017. Barrie Advance. January 17, 2017. en-CA.
  2. Web site: Alectra Utilities Corporation . Guelph Hydro . Alectra Utilities Corporation and Guelph Hydro Electric Systems Inc. — Application for Approval of Consolidation under Section 86 of the Ontario Energy Board Act,1998 and related relief . Regulatory Affairs . Guelph Hydro . November 6, 2018 . March 7, 2018.
  3. News: Werner. Kevin. Horizon Utilities becomes Alectra creating second largest municipally-owned utility in North America. April 21, 2017. Hamilton Community News. Metroland Media Group. January 16, 2017. en-CA.
  4. Web site: Enersource, Horizon Utilities, PowerStream Officially Become Alectra Inc.. April 21, 2017. January 31, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170422134208/http://www.alectrautilities.com/docs/2017-01-31-Officially-Become-Alectra.pdf. April 22, 2017. dead.
  5. Web site: Alectra Inc. Acquires Hydro One Brampton. April 21, 2017. February 28, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170422123946/http://www.alectrautilities.com/docs/2017-02-28-Alectra-Acquires-Hydro-One-Brampton.pdf. April 22, 2017. dead.
  6. News: Carty . Matt . Ontario Energy Board approves Guelph Hydro, Alectra merger . November 6, 2018 . Global News . October 19, 2018 . en.
  7. News: Guelph Hydro, Alectra merger now official . January 11, 2019 . Guelph Mercury Tribune . Metroland Media Group . January 2, 2019.
  8. News: Adams. Ian. Collingwood wants answers on Collus-Powerstream dividend. April 21, 2017. Collingwood Connection. March 16, 2017. en-CA. In a letter to both the town and Alectra... Collus-Powerstream board secretary Pamela Hogg advised the company's board of directors decided not to pay a dividend to the two shareholders for the 2015 fiscal year..
  9. News: Walker. Mike. EPCOR to become new utility provider in Collingwood area after Alectra sells shares to town. February 19, 2018. CTV News Barrie. November 9, 2017. en-CA.
  10. News: Craggs. Samantha. Hamilton residents won't notice much difference in new electricity merger. April 21, 2017. CBC News. January 16, 2017. en.
  11. Web site: Guelph Hydro-Alectra Utilities merger completed . News . Alectra Utilities . January 12, 2019 . Guelph, ON . January 2, 2019 . Also, as part of the merger agreement, Alectra’s original 13-member Board of Directors has been expanded to accommodate representation from the City of Guelph. Jane Armstrong... has been selected as Guelph’s representative and will join the Alectra Board early in 2019..
  12. Web site: PWU Welcomes Alectra Employees Into Membership. Power Workers' Union. August 3, 2017. June 28, 2017.
  13. Web site: Guelph Hydro, Alectra merger approved. October 19, 2018. Guelph Mercury Tribune. October 20, 2018. en-CA. McNaughton. Graeme .
  14. Web site: A Guelph Hydro-Alectra merger makes sense - City of Guelph . City of Guelph . November 6, 2018 . April 10, 2018 . Service would be the same or better for customers in Guelph and Rockwood..

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