Centre Wellington Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj says there is a move afoot to shrink the number of local utilities to a mere handful.
On Feb. 11, the mayor updated council on a recent conference for local hydro utilities.
She noted a recent proposal to reduce the number of utilities in the province. Ross-Zuj said they are hoping to reduce the number to six.
She said that would mean each company would have over 450,000 customers. “That is the size the government is looking at this time around.”
Ross-Zuj said at the conference, all the smaller utilities had the chance to look at the areas the diverse group had in common – and why local utilities are necessary to the communities they serve
“We would like the chance to determine our own fate,” she said. Ross-Zuj added there was also excellent support from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario staff.
Ross-Zuj said the intent of the local utilities group is to be able to provide a response to the provincial initiative.
While she considered the meeting intense, “I am just so proud of the expertise our local utility staff brought to the table and were able to interact with others.”
