Guelph Hydro workforce would be cut almost in half, Alectra merger report shows

The final report on the merger between Guelph Hydro and Alectra going to city council for a vote shows the workforce in Guelph would be cut almost in half.

Guelph Hydro’s current 130 positions would be reduced down to 70, according to the report. As for those other 60, 30 positions would be cut through attrition, voluntary retirement or voluntary separation and another 30 would be offered jobs in other locations starting in 2019, but the majority of the moves would not happen until 2020 and 2022.

City staff is recommending councillors approve the merger that would see Guelph receive a 4.63 per cent ownership interest in Alectra and one permanent seat on Alectra’s board of directors.

RELATED: Guelph Hydro begins merger talks with Alectra

Guelph would receive a special one-time dividend of $18.5 million prior to the deal closing and then ongoing dividends equal to 60 per cent of Alectra’s net income.

Those annual dividends are projected to be $10.1 million more over 20 years than they would be if Guelph maintained full ownership over the utility, according to the report.

Rates are not expected to go down if the merger is approved, but officials have said all along they wouldn’t go up as much as they would if the merger didn’t happen.

“Guelph and Rockwood (where Guelph Hydro services as well) customers would avoid an estimated five per cent distribution rate increase in 2021 and another estimated five per cent increase in 2026, and would also benefit from the savings expected from consolidating the two companies,” the city said in a news release.

READ MORE: Female students from Guelph and Waterloo regions learn tricks of the trades

Despite the positions being reduced, the report said Alectra will continue to meet or exceed service standards and reliability for customers in Guelph and Rockwood.

Guelph Hydro’s current location would become Alectra’s southwest operations centre for at least ten years. Alectra would also establish a “Green Energy & Technology Centre” at that same location and employ eight to ten people.

“The report answers a lot of the questions we’ve been hearing from our community about electricity distribution rates, service reliability, the City’s dividend, our share in the merged company, and jobs,” said Derrick Thomson, the City of Guelph’s CAO.

City council will hear delegations and vote on the merger on Dec 13.

If approved it would then be submitted to the Ontario Energy Board for approval, but a decision is not expected until fall 2018.