HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1982-07-21, Page 5The readers write
Hydro clialrman replies to Riddell's conc•rns
Dear Editor:
Jack Riddell has raised a
long list of concerns about On-
tario Hydro (Jack's Jottings,
June 16).
Perhaps you'd allow me
space for a few "jottings" on
behalf of Hydro.
If I read it correctly, your
Member's main concerns are
rates, salaries, staff growth,
Hydro's accountability, and
the long-term debt. I'll deal
with each in turn.
Rates
Some people think that
because we're a big utility
we're immune from the
ravages of inflation, a weak
Canadian dollar, and un-
precedented interest rates.
We're not.
The 54 per cent so widely
quoted in recent weeks
represents the possible im-
pact of those factors on Hydro
rates over the next three
years.
I say "possible" because all
we've proposed sofaris 13.9
per cent for 1983 - that's as far
into the future as we can now
look with any certainty, and
even that figure isn't cast in
concrete.
Salaries
It has also been widely, but
incorrectly, reported, that
Hydro's executive staff were
to receive a 22 per cent in-
crease next year.
In fact, our estimate called
for someing between 12 and
14 per cent, close to the pro-
jected inflation rate.
Even that is now doubtful,
because Hydro's board of
directors - in light of the cur-
rent economic slump - has
frozen executive salaries
indefinitely.
Staff growth
The number of people
Hydro employs has indeed
grown, and the main reason
has been our increasing use of
nuclear power.
Although electricity
generated from nuclear
power is on the whole only .
half the cost of electricity
from coal, nuclear stations re-
quire about twice as many
people to build and operate as
coal stations do.
In other words, part of the
enormous fuel savings on coal
are offset by'the cost of hiring
more people. And I suggest
that in hard times, that's not
a bad thing.
It's worth noting, too, that
in recent years Hydro has
been doing a lot that has
nothing to do with producing
electricity, but responds to
definite public needs - in-
cluding the need to account
for its policies and activities.
For instance, Hydro
employees work on in-
vestigating and developing
alternative sources of
energy: solar -assisted water
heating, fusion, and hydrogen
to name just three. Some of
these technologies are
already in use; others will
serve us well as we move in-
to the next century.
Other employees ensure
what Mr. Riddell seems most
concerned about: Hydro's
accountability.
Accountability
I agree absolutely that
Hydro must be accountable
and also responsive. The
record shows we are.
We have answered to the
Royal Commission on Elec-
tric Power Planning, the
Select Committee on Hydro
Affairs and, more recently, to
the Consolidated Hearings
Board on transmission plans
for eastern and southwestern
Ontario. We also submit our
rate proposals for review by
the Ontario Energy Board
every year.
I'd like to quote from the a
Science Council of Canada
report called "Public In-
quiries in Canada",
September 1981, which says:
"Ontario Hydro can
legitimately claim to place
greater emphasis on assess-
ment than any other corpora-
tion of similar size and allows
for greater public input than
any other Canadian company.
The debt
Much concern has been ex-
pressed over Hydro's debt,
and that's understandable.
The total long-term debt is
now about $14 billion - a for-
midable sum.
Equally formidable,
however, is the value of
Hydro's assets - over $18
billion.
On the international money
market, which is the ultimate
test of a utility's financial
'health, assets count as much
as debt. Together, they
measure your credit-
worthiness, which determines
how much you can borrow
and at what interest rate.
The Government of On-
tario, which guarantees
Hydro's borrowings, enjoys a
Triple -A rating - the best
there is.
For the Ontario electricity
consumer, here's the bottom
line: if you're served by one
of the 234 municipal utilities
in this province, you are pay-
ing an average of $40 a month
for 1,000 kilowatt-hours of
electricity.
If you lived in New York,
you'd be paying $119; in
Detroit $77; in Los Angeles
$69. Closer to home, Ontario
rates are lower than rates in
five of the other nine
provinces.
Sincerely,
Hugh Macaulay per JRT
Chairman of the Board,
Ontario Hydro
Times -Advocate, July 21,1982
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