Deal to sell PDI expected in July

City, Hydro One making progress in ongoing negotiations

The city may have a deal to sell Peterborough Distribution Inc. (PDI) to Hydro One by the end of July, says the city CAO.

CAO Sandra Clancy stated in an email to The Examiner that local officials are back in discussions with Hydro One.

“Both sides are making great efforts to finalize (a deal), but it takes time,” she wrote. “We are hopeful that it can be completed by the end of July.”

Clancy wrote that the city’s still asking for $105 million for the local utility.

Mayor Daryl Bennett couldn’t be reached for comment on Friday. Neither could John Stephenson, the CEO of Peterborough Utilities Group.

But a spokesperson for Hydro One confirmed in an email that discussions are back on. Tiziana Baccega-Rosa didn’t speculate, however, about when a deal might be reached (if at all).

“There is no certainty we will come to an agreement – or if we do, when one will occur,” she wrote.

In December 2016, city council voted to sell PDI for $105 million. That was meant to include all the trucks, transformers, poles and wires used to deliver electricity to Peterborough, Lakefield and Norwood.

The city wasn’t expecting to receive $105 million in the sale, though: Once PDI’s debts would be paid, as well as the taxes on the sale, the city could expect to net somewhere between $50 million and $55 million.

But after more than a year of negotiations, Hydro One announced on March 8 it was no longer interested in buying.

Then in April, Allan Seabrooke – who was city CAO at the time – said at a council meeting that the two sides had “re-engaged” in discussions.

On Friday, Coun. Dave Haacke wrote a statement to The Examiner in support of the prospective sale.

He mentioned that the utility is experiencing declining profits, while the infrastructure is deteriorating.

Meanwhile the city can reap between $5 million and $6 million annually if it invests the proceeds of the sale, and Hydro One will bring good jobs to the city.

But Coun. Diane Therrien wasn’t happy about the prospective sale on Friday.

“I think this is a bad deal for the city,” she said.

Therrien, who is running for

mayor in the election in October, said councillors have received no updates on the discussions lately.

The terms of the deal must have changed in the discussions, she said, and that makes it “a different deal” – and councillors ought to ratify it.

Meanwhile one of the board of directors of Peterborough Utilities Group, whose term was not renewed at the end of 2017, is also concerned.

David Clark wrote a letter to councillors earlier this year – obtained Friday by The Examiner – saying he thinks council “failed to adequately consider public opposition” when it voted on the deal.

He could not be reached for comment on Friday.

When council voted to sell PDI in 2016, it was against widespread public disapproval: An Environics poll conducted about a month prior to the vote, commissioned by CUPE Ontario, found that 90 per cent of respondents didn’t want the public utility sold.

On Friday, CUPE Ontario secretary-treasurer Candace Rennick wrote in a statement to The Examiner that negotiations took place “under a veil of secrecy”.

“Deals should only and always be in the best interest of the people of the community,” she wrote.

“This deal is dubious in that regard.”