20181113Comments_2.pdf

Diane Holt
From:[e-mail]
Sent:Monday,November 12,2018 7:54 AM
To:Beverly Barker;Diane Holt;Erik Jorgensen;Matthew Evans
Subject:Case Comment Form:James Hollingsworth
Name:James Hollingsworth
Case Number:AVU-17-09 //VV-€-/7-o 7 ///</t/-é -/7-0
Email:[e-mail]
Telephone:[phone]
Address:1203 W.Orchard Ave
Hayden Lake Idaho,83835
Name of Utility Company:Mr.
Comment:Gentlemen,Please do not approve of sale of Avista to Hydro One.Here are additional comments I would like
entered into the record.Thanks so much.Jim Hollingsworth.
https://gemstatepatriot.com/blog/open-letter-rob-curley/
Unique Identifier:172.79.103.130
1
Dear Commissioners Mrs.Kristine Raper and Mr.Eric Anderson,
A well respected journalist at the Globe&Mail in Canada published an article on Friday titled "Who picks
the next Hydro One CEO,the board or Ford?".This article does an excellent job articulating some of the
key risks that Avista ratepayers in Idahowill be assuming should Hydro One's acquisition be approved.
Please see below for the article.
Respectfully,
Mark
Who picks the next Hydro One
CEO,the board or Ford?
ANDREW WILLIS
PUBLISHED 5 MINUTES AGOUPDATED NOVEMBER 9,2018
COMMENTS
The acting CEO of Hydro One Ltd.,Paul Dobson,said all the right things last
week,when Ontario's electrical transmission utility reported strong financial
results and steady progress on its $6.7-billion takeover of Avista Corp.,a U.S.
company that provides power in Idaho,Washington State,Oregon and
Alaska.
No one took Mr.Dobson at his word.He's the lamest of lame ducks.
Everyone is waiting for the appointment of a new chief executive for Hydro
One.Whoever steps into this meat grinder of a job will dictate the future of a
company that keeps the lights on for 1.3 million Canadians,yet is stalled at
the crossroads of politics and commerce.
Mr.Dobson is Hydro One's former chief financial officer,a veteran financier
dropped into the top job in July after Ontario Premier Doug Ford turned ex-
CEO Mayo Schmidt into his personal pinata.Ontario owns 47 per cent of the
partly privatized company.After an election campaign that somehow
managed to link rising power prices to executive compensation -the political
equivalent of tying stock-market performance to the team that wins the Super
Bowl -Mr.Ford forced Mr.Schmidt's retirement over a $6.2-million pay
package,a sum that is less than what CEOs take home at comparable
domestic utilities.
After the election,Hydro One's board resigned,Mr.Dobson got a temporary
promotion and new directors stepped up.The board is now split between
nominees from Ontario's new Progressive Conservative government and the
utility's institutional investors -groups with vastly different agendas.Because
their differences are irreconcilable,one side is going to come out on top when
the next CEO is announced while the other stands to be deeply disappointed.
Uncertainty around Hydro One's leadership and governance already hangs
over the company's stock price,as do a series of regulatory setbacks in
Ontario.Mr.Dobson announced a $194-million quarterly profit on Thursday
that exceeded analyst expectations.CIBC World Markets analyst Robert
Catellier responded by knocking back his target price on the stock,to $19.75
from $20.50,saying strong operating results "are largely masked by the
machinations of the Avista takeover and concerns about the outlook in
Ontario."
The choice of a new CEO will determine whose vision drives Hydro One -Mr.
Ford's or that of the investor-appointed directors at a company that is majority-
owned by the private sector.Mr.Ford's priority is meetinq an election
promise to cut electricity bills by 12 per cent.Investors,on the other
hand,want Hydro One to pump up profits and raise dividends.
The Premier's ideal candidate is someone who delivers lower power prices for
a pay packet in the $400,000 to $600,000 range,according to sources in the
government.That's what the top dog gets at Crown corporations Hydro-
Québec and Manitoba Hydro.To steal a phrase from Winston Churchill,at a
large public company,for $600,000 you get a modest CEO with much to be
modest about.
Investors want the next CEO to keep building the business by closing the
Avista takeover,then plowing the cash generated from a $32-billion leader
into expanding U.S.operations.Achieving this goal means pushing
requiators for higher rates.It also means paying for a CEO with proven
M&A skills.
The culture of Hydro One hangs in the balance.The current management
team was hired with a growth mandate,as the Toronto-based utility knocked
off more than 90 successful acquisitions on Mr.Schmidt's watch.Abandoning
that strategy will mean more management turnover and will be expensive._If
the new CEO and board were to drop the Avista acquisition,Hydro One
would have to pay a US$103-milliontermination fee to the Spokane,
Wash.-based utility.
Hydro One's internal goal was to announce a new CEO by the end of the
year,according to sources who work for the Ontario government and at Hydro
One.But these sources say the board is still struqqling to settle on a
CEO compensationscheme that satisfies the Premier while making the
job attractive to proven candidates,including internal ones.After going
public in 2015,Hydro One's goal was to become a major North American
enterprise.Under this government,with a new boss,the company's strategy
may be far more modest.
https://www.theqlobeandmail.com/business/commentarylarticle-who-picks-the-next-hydro-one-ceo-the-
board-or-ford/