A member of the Westario Power board has given Kincardine Council an update on what’s happening at the local power company.
Bob Jameson says the biggest highlights of 2009 were merging two previously separate divisions — Westario Power Holdings and Westario Power Services into a single company.
He says provincial regulators did not want to see any cross-subsidy between the two companies — so they examined Westario Power Services closely, and that led to a decision to fold it into the main company.
Jameson says installing new smart meters in Kincardine is 60 to 70 per cent complete.
He says one of the biggest challenges Westario currently faces is adapting to the Green Energy Act.
Jameson says the main drive behind the effort to get people to use less power is avoiding future capital costs.
He says building a new power plant at Darlington for example is significant, and the consumer would be shouldering the cost.
However, by using less power, there would be less of a need for more power plants.
Westario Power was formed in 2000 when the provincial government restructured the electricity industry and former municipal utilities commissions were disbanded.
Westario currently serves 21 thousand customers in the urban areas of Kincardine, Saugeen Shores, Brockton, Hanover, Minto, Huron-Kinloss, South Bruce, and North Huron.
Each of the eight municipalities is a shareholder in the company.
Kincardine Mayor Larry Kraemer says there was no “eye popping” information in Jameson’s update, but he thinks that’s a good sign.
He says stability should be a feature of how utility businesses operate.
Jameson also notes it is difficult for Westario to engage in public relations because of the large territory it covers, comparing it to “swiss cheese” because they only serve urban pockets of municipalities.