Guelph councillors will vote later this month on a proposal to explore either merging Guelph Hydro with another electrical utility or selling it outright.
Those are the two options proposed by a committee put together by council to examine the future of the utility.
Guelph Hydro is fully owned by a subsidiary of the City of Guelph. It provides power to all of Guelph and Rockwood.
The committee’s report found that a sale or merger would increase the utility’s cost-effectiveness and likely decrease electricity prices for consumers, while maintaining the status quo could present challenges around customer service and emerging technologies.
“While maintaining full ownership remains an option in the short term, it does not address the long-term challenges and opportunities facing Guelph Hydro in Ontario’s evolving electricity distribution market,” the report reads.
Public open houses on the issue were held last month. A telephone survey and online poll were also conducted.
According to the report, top concerns of the public included the price they pay for electricity, the reliability of hydro service, environmental sustainability and maintaining local control of the utility.
Many municipalities across Ontario have either sold or merged their hydro utilities over the last few years, with others in the process of doing so.
In 2012, a report to the provincial government recommended that the province’s 73 electrical utilities consolidate into as few as eight.
The issue goes to councillors Feb. 15. If they agree to take a closer look at a sale or merger, it will be several months before any specific scenarios are laid out.
According to the report, about 20 per cent of the charges on the average residential power bill are related to costs specific to Guelph Hydro, with the remaining 80 per cent is for items outside the utility’s control.
