Peterborough Distribution sale not done
City, Hydro One still continuing talks to complete $105M transaction
Officials didn’t comment on Wednesday when asked whether the sale of Peterborough Distribution Inc. (PDI) to Hydro One is expected soon. John Stephenson, president and CEO of Peterborough Utilities Group, told The Examiner via email on Feb. 2 that the longawaited transaction could potentially happen by the end of the month. But he couldn’t be reached for comment on Wednesday. Neither could anyone from Hydro One. City CAO Allan Seabrooke had little to say on the matter in an email sent Wednesday. “Nothing new to report since the last update from John Stephenson a few weeks ago on the sale of PDI to Hydro One,” he wrote. “We will advise once we have anything further to report.” Seabrooke was asked in a follow-up email whether negotiations are ongoing, but he couldn’t be reached for comment again. It’s been more than 14 months since city council voted to sell all the trucks, transformers, poles and wires used to deliver electricity to Peterborough, Lakefield and Norwood. Hydro One offered $105 million for PDI, at that time. Stephenson wrote to The Examiner on Feb. 2 that the offer was still on the table. Meanwhile council wasn’t expecting to receive $105 million on the sale: PDI’s debts would need to be paid, as well as taxes on the sale, leaving the city with somewhere between $50 million and $55 million. Council would be expected to invest that money, with interest of roughly $3 million generated annually. Shortly after council voted to sell PDI in Dec. 2016, Seabrooke
predicted the transaction would be complete by the end of January 2018. When there was still no sale by Feb. 2, Stephenson told The Examiner the intricacies of the deal were taking time to work out. He wrote that Hydro One plans to build a new regional office in Peterborough as part of the deal, and that was taking time. When council was considering the sale of PDI, there was widespread public disapproval. An Environics poll conducted about a month prior to the council vote, commissioned by the Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario, found 90 per cent opposed.