Shareholders Approve Merger of Enersource, Horizon Utilities and PowerStream, Plus Acquisition of Hydro One Brampton

A proposal to merge municipal electricity utilities Enersource, Horizon Utilities and PowerStream and jointly acquire Hydro One Brampton has now received approval from all shareholders.The seven shareholders involved in the transaction include the municipalities of Barrie, Hamilton, Markham, Mississauga, St. Catharines and Vaughan and Borealis, a division of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and a shareholder of Enersource.

(L-R) Jeff Lehman, PowerStream Board member and Mayor, City of Barrie; Frank Scarpitti, PowerStream Board Vice-Chair and Mayor of the City of Markham; Maurizio Bevilacqua, PowerStream Board Chair and Mayor of the City of Vaughan at a November 17 press conference

“The merger is a win-win for customers and shareholders,” says merger spokesman John Crean. “By generating cost savings through significant economies of scale, the merger will reduce the rising cost of electricity for customers and improve returns for municipal shareholders — monies that can be invested back into communities. By maintaining competitive local distribution rates, the communities also remain attractive to new investment, which benefits all municipal taxpayers and electricity ratepayers.”

Once the agreements are finalized, details of the transaction will be forwarded to the Ontario Energy Board for regulatory approval, a process that is expected to take several months.

When the transaction is completed, the new utility will deliver electricity and related services to more than 900,000 residential and commercial customers in the Greater Golden Horseshoe area, making it Ontario’s second largest local electric distribution company.