Candidate targets energy costs
Citing electricity rates he says are among the “highest in comparable markets in Southwestern Ontario,” mayoral candidate Matt Marchand called Thursday for increased transparency and a valuefor-money audit at Enwin. Part of his plan is to “set the tone from the top,” by reducing the number of boards governing Enwin from three to two. That would translate into about $500,000 in saved payments to directors over the next four years, he said.
“We have one of the highest rate structures in Southwestern Ontario, particularly for residents.” He said reducing the number of boards “is an area we can look at for cost savings and efficiency.” According to data supplied by the Marchand campaign, taken from the Ontario Energy Board’s Bill Calculator, Enwin’s rates are second highest among a list of 10 electric companies with “comparable markets,” from here up to Brampton. Bluewater Power in Sarnia has the highest rates at both 1,000 kilowatt hours and 750 kWh, followed by Enwin, St. Thomas Energy, Chatham-Kentbased Entegrus, E.L.K. Energy based in Essex County, Guelph Hydro, Essex Powerlines, Brampton’s Alectra, Brantford Power and London Hydro.
“I think we can improve on that, big time,” said Marchand, repeating his call for an auditor general to probe whether money is being spent wisely and prudently at city organizations, including Enwin. But Mayor Drew Dilkens, who sits on all three Enwin boards, chairing two of them, disputed Marchand’s numbers. He looked at data from the same website and compared Enwin’s rates to 13 other utilities between Guelph and here. Enwin ranked eighth most expensive out of the 13, he said, suggesting that Marchand’s comparison is “completely wrong.”
“He’s cherry-picking numbers, he’s not giving people a clear pic- ture of what the true situation is.” The energy board’s listing of monthly residential electricity bills from the province’s 75 utilities for monthly usage of 750 kWh places Enwin as the 47th most expensive at $95.31, with the highest bill at $112.05 from the utility in Parry Sound and the lowest bill at $84.23 from Fort Frances Power Corp. Dilkens also said what Enwin charges for distribution of electricity (the actual cost of electricity is a provincial rate that’s passed through to consumers) has dropped from $36.65 monthly in 2014 to $33.44 in 2018. Marchand’s Enwin plan is the sixth in a series of weekly platform announcements leading up to the Oct. 22 municipal election. He held a news conference in front of the Enwin offices at Ouellette Avenue and Elliott Street.
Other ideas that Marchand is suggesting include establishing term limits for members of Enwin’s boards to eight years; having Enwin report to city council in open session every six months; making Enwin agendas, board packages and annual reports more publicly available; and forbidding board members from sitting on more than one board so they don’t receive “multiple retainers.” For example, Mayor Drew Dilkens earned $57,206 in 2017 for sitting on three Enwin boards as well as the Enwin-managed Windsor Utilities Commission. Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac also sits on all three boards, though the compensation city councillors receive from boards is pooled and split evenly between them. Other people who sit on two Enwin boards are retired WFCU chief Marty Komsa and chartered accountant Garnet Fenn. Former mayor Eddie Francis sits on one of the boards, as does Dilkens’ campaign manager, Abe Taqtaq.
Other board members are city councillors John Elliott and Fred Francis, Vic Neufeld who is chairman of Leamington-based medical marijuana producer Aphria, University of Windsor automotive engineering professor Peter Frise, government of Ontario small business adviser Nancy Creighton, Gateway Casinos senior vice-president Keith Andrews and IT program manager Kulveer Virk. Enwin has three boards because it has three companies: a parent company, a company for supplying electricity (which is required by the province) and a company for other business. The retainers for board members run between about $10,800 and $13,500 annually.
Marchand wouldn’t comment on the makeup of the boards. “Let’s have an independent analysis of what that looks like,” he said, referring to his proposed value-for-money audit. But Dilkens insisted Enwin is a well-run organization. He said the reason Enwin has multiple boards with councillors providing oversight is because during the time Marchand worked for then-mayor Mike Hurst, it was struggling, involved in enterprises outside its expertise like hot-water tank rentals and telecommunications.
“We cleaned up the mess, Eddie Francis and I turned those companies to focus on one thing,” the delivery of electricity at the right price, he said, adding that the Enwin companies have paid $56 million in dividends to the City of Windsor since 2005.
He also said Enwin has undergone a number of independent audits in recent years, including a 2008 audit by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, three audits by the city’s outside firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and an upcoming cost-of-service review in 2020 by the Ontario Energy Board.
“The Enwin group of companies is a $650-million business — they aren’t lemonade stands, they’re well-run organizations,” he said, adding Enwin is headed by former City of Windsor CAO Helga Reidel.