Alectra

Last updated
Alectra Incorporated
Company type Municipally owned corporation
Industry Electricity distribution
PredecessorsEnersource
Horizon Utilities
PowerStream
Hydro One Brampton
Guelph Hydro
FoundedJanuary 31, 2017;7 years ago (2017-01-31) in Mississauga, Ontario
Headquarters
Areas served
see below
Key people
Brian Bentz (President and CEO)
OwnersCity 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%)
OMERS Infrastructure [lower-alpha 1] (2.96%) [2]
Number of employees
1,600 (2017, projected [3] )
Subsidiaries Alectra Utilities Corporation
Alectra Energy Solutions Inc.
Website alectrautilities.com
Alectra office in Markham AlectraMarkham.jpg
Alectra office in Markham

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.

Contents

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. [4]

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. [5] 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. [6] Guelph Hydro (serving Guelph and Rockwood) merged into Alectra on January 1, 2019. [7] [4]

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

  1. Held the remaining 10% of Enersource; formerly known as Borealis Infrastructure

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simcoe County</span> County in Ontario, Canada

Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe area, a densely populated and industrialized region, centred on the Greater Toronto Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydro One</span> Electricity transmission and distribution utility serving in Ontario, Canada

Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. In October 1998, the provincial legislature passed the Energy Competition Act which restructured Ontario Hydro into separate entities responsible for electrical generation, transmission/delivery, and price management with a final goal of total privatization.

The Family Coalition Party of Ontario was a socially conservative party in Ontario, Canada. The party ran fifty-one candidates in the 2003 Ontario provincial election, none of whom were elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ontario Junior Hockey League</span> Canadian ice hockey league, founded 1955

The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Ontario municipal elections</span>

In the 2006 municipal elections in Ontario, voters in the province of Ontario, elected mayors, councillors, school board trustees and all other elected officials in all of Ontario's municipalities. These elections were regulated by the Municipal Elections Act of Ontario.

PowerStream Holdings Incorporated was an electric utility servicing communities north of Toronto and in Central Ontario. Its service areas included Aurora, Alliston, Barrie, Beeton, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Penetanguishene, Markham, Richmond Hill, Thornton, Tottenham and Vaughan.

Metroland Media Group is a Canadian mass media publisher and distributor which primarily operates in Southern Ontario. A division of the publishing conglomerate Torstar Corporation, Metroland published more than 70 local community newspapers–including six dailies–and many magazines. In addition to printing most of its own publications, Metroland operates as a commercial printer of flyers and magazines.

The 1985 Ontario municipal elections were held on November 12, 1985, to elect mayors, municipal councils, school boards, and hydro commissions in cities, towns and other incorporated communities throughout the Canadian province of Ontario.

Municipal elections were held in municipalities across Ontario, Canada on November 14, 1988 to elect mayors, reeves, councillors and school trustees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Lehman (politician)</span> 46th mayor of Barrie

Jeffrey Robert Lehman is a Canadian politician and economist who is currently serving as Chair of the District of Muskoka since 2022. He had previously served as the 46th mayor of Barrie from 2010 to 2022. He was also the chair of Ontario's Big City Mayor's organization, consisting of the mayors of Ontario's 29 largest cities.

The 1997 Ontario municipal elections were led in all municipalities across the Canadian province of Ontario on November 10, 1997, to elect mayors and reeves, councillors, and school trustees. There were also referendum questions in some municipalities.

The 1991 Ontario municipal elections were held on November 12, 1991, to elect mayors, reeves, councillors, and school trustees in all municipalities across Ontario. Some communities also held referendum questions.

The 1994 Ontario municipal elections were held on November 14, 1994, to elect mayors, reeves, councillors, and school trustees in all municipalities across Ontario. Some communities also held referendum questions.

Municipal elections were held in Ontario November 13, 2000.

The Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act is a statute in Ontario that grants extra powers to the Mayor of Toronto and the mayors of other designated municipalities within their mayor–council governments.

References

  1. Simon, Chris (January 17, 2017). "Simcoe and York residents will save through hydro merger: Barrie mayor". Barrie Advance. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  2. Alectra Utilities Corporation; Guelph Hydro (March 7, 2018). "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" (PDF). Regulatory Affairs. Guelph Hydro. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Werner, Kevin (January 16, 2017). "Horizon Utilities becomes Alectra creating second largest municipally-owned utility in North America". Hamilton Community News. Metroland Media Group. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Guelph Hydro, Alectra merger now official". Guelph Mercury Tribune. Metroland Media Group. January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  5. "Enersource, Horizon Utilities, PowerStream Officially Become Alectra Inc" (PDF). January 31, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  6. "Alectra Inc. Acquires Hydro One Brampton" (PDF). February 28, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Carty, Matt (October 19, 2018). "Ontario Energy Board approves Guelph Hydro, Alectra merger". Global News. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  8. Adams, Ian (March 16, 2017). "Collingwood wants answers on Collus-Powerstream dividend". Collingwood Connection. Retrieved April 21, 2017. 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. Walker, Mike (November 9, 2017). "EPCOR to become new utility provider in Collingwood area after Alectra sells shares to town". CTV News Barrie. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  10. Craggs, Samantha (January 16, 2017). "Hamilton residents won't notice much difference in new electricity merger". CBC News. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  11. "Guelph Hydro-Alectra Utilities merger completed" (PDF). News. Guelph, ON: Alectra Utilities. January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 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. "PWU Welcomes Alectra Employees Into Membership". Power Workers' Union. June 28, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  13. McNaughton, Graeme (October 19, 2018). "Guelph Hydro, Alectra merger approved". Guelph Mercury Tribune. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  14. "A Guelph Hydro-Alectra merger makes sense - City of Guelph". City of Guelph. April 10, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018. Service would be the same or better for customers in Guelph and Rockwood.