Watson named to run Bermuda regulatory body
Former SaskPower CEO Robert Watson has taken up the same position at an organization in charge of regulating Bermuda’s electronic communications.
Watson, who resigned from his post in late October after a government investigation found serious issues with SaskPower’s smart meter program, joined the Bermuda Regulatory Authority at the beginning of January.
“I hope to bring a business perspective to the regulation side,” said Watson.
As for his choice of Bermuda, he said: “It reminded me a lot of Saskatchewan, really. People are very friendly.”
Watson was evasive about SaskPower questions; he never provided an interview to the Leader-Post following his resignation.
“I’ve already left that behind,” he said. “The only thing I want to say about Saskatchewan and SaskPower is the employees: They’re great to work with.”
As for lessons taken from SaskPower, he said, “Just the idea of the business of it. At SaskPower we were responsible for making decisions that were good economic decisions so that’s what we hope to bring here.”
When asked if the smart meter investigation came up in conversations during the application process, Watson said, “I’m just going to talk about the future.”
The Crown Investments Corporation (CIC) review was released Oct. 27 in the wake of several smart meter fires. It found that SaskPower did not make customer safety a priority, its procurement process was flawed, and the company relied too heavily on external consultants while lacking clear direction at the top.
“One of the key benefits he brings to the table is that he has a background in energy as well as telecoms,” said Bermuda Regulatory Authority chairman Carl Musson of Watson. (Watson previously worked at SaskTel, and the Bermudian authority might soon be legislated to regulate the energy sector.)
Musson added that seeing as the authority is new to Bermuda (it has only be around 18 months), there isn’t a wealth of local experience. Its former CEO left his post in September.
Musson said that he and his colleagues reviewed the CIC report and discussed it with Watson before they hired him.
“We did our due diligence. ... And we were satisfied having looked at the report and other discussions with Robert and other due diligence that he would be the great guy for the job,” Musson said.
When asked what he thought of the CIC review’s comments on oversight, Musson said, ”My understanding is that as chief executive he is ultimately responsible and ultimately assumes responsibility.
“I’m not too sure if any CEO or head of any company can prevent all negatives from happening. They can only do so much. It’s leadership, but things go wrong.”