Tom Adams Energy - ideas for a smarter grid

Ontario Electricity Regulation Crisis Report Part 76: Toronto Star Comments

Tom — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:02:43 +0000

There is an active discussion underway on the Toronto Star site regarding the story about the phoney credentials of Toronto Hydro’s CEO Anthony Haines.

I notice that one of the commenters has doubts about my motivations in researching and presenting the story, arguing that I have an “axe to grind”. Here is a note from a commenter obviously conversant in the wider scope of my work:

Manitoulin13 minutes ago
Review the history in Tom Adams website in relation to this article. There is more to this than just a CV though as important as it is to be forthright with your peers. As an energy consultant there is more to Tom Adams than just Toronto Hydro CEO’s.
The gas buster series and docs through FOI’s is unprecedented with the amount of work that would have gone into this Green Energy Act scandal that is affecting all Hydro rates for industry, business and the public. Kudos to Tom.

http://www.tomadamsenergy.com/

Ontario Electricity Regulation Crisis Report Part 75: Toronto Hydro’s CEO Perjury

Tom — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:51:05 +0000

Here is an example of Anthony Haines swearing a false oath in testimony before the Ontario Energy Board (so much for the “clerical error”, “formatting error”, and “contiguous” comma theories).

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(Transcript from Ontario Energy Board case EB-2011-0144)
Friday, November 11, 2011
— On commencing at 9:34 a.m.
MS. CHAPLIN: Please be seated. Good morning, everyone. The Board is sitting today in the matter of application EB-2011-0144 submitted by Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited for an order or orders approving or fixing rates for the distribution of electricity to be effective May 1st, 2012, May 1st, 2013 and May 1st, 2014.
We’re sitting this morning to hear the witness panel of Toronto Hydro regarding the preliminary issue. We have — I think we have an order of cross-examination. Are there any preliminary matters before we…
MR. RODGER: No, Madam Chair.
MS. CHAPLIN: Okay. So I have an order of cross-examination with Board Staff going first, then Energy Probe, City of Toronto, BOMA, AMPCO, VECC, and then Schools. Does that cover everybody, I think?
And then just in terms of — to mark that today is Remembrance Day, we will observe a moment of silence at 11 o’clock, and we will take the morning break at whatever point after that is most convenient in the questioning.
So if there is no preliminary matters, then perhaps the witnesses could be sworn or affirmed at their choice.
MS. SEBALJ: Madam Chair, did you want to take appearances?
MS. CHAPLIN: Well, we did that last week, didn’t we? Is there anybody here that wasn’t here last week who would like to make an appearance? I think we’ve got everybody.
TORONTO HYDRO-ELECTRIC SYSTEM LIMITED – PANEL 1
Jean-Sebastien Couillard
Anthony Haines, Sworn
Colin McLorg, Sworn
EXAMINATION BY MR. RODGER
MR. RODGER: Thank you, Madam Chair.
As the parties will be aware, this panel will speak to the evidence and preliminary issue before the Board this morning, and, in particular, with respect to the witness statements filed on October 31st, 2011.
The panel consists of three members from Toronto Hydro’s senior executive team, Mr. Anthony Haines, Mr. J.S. Couillard, and Mr. Colin McLorg.
So starting with you first, Mr. Haines, you are the president of Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited?
MR. HAINES: That’s correct.
MR. RODGER: And you have held this position since September 2006?
MR. HAINES: Yes.
MR. RODGER: And I understand that your CV has been provided to the Board as Exhibit A1, tab 5, schedule 2-1?
MR. HAINES: Yes.
MR. RODGER: And, Mr. Couillard, you are the chief financial officer of Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited, and you have held this position since November of 2004?
MR. COUILLARD: Yes.
MR. RODGER: And your CV has also been provided to the Board as Exhibit A1, tab 5, schedule 2-2?
MR. COUILLARD: Yes.
MR. RODGER: And, finally, Mr. McLorg, you are the manager regulatory policy and relations of Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited?
MR. McLORG: Yes.
MR. RODGER: And you have held this position since August 2006?
MR. McLORG: That’s correct.
MR. RODGER: And your CV has provided to the Board as Exhibit A1, tab 5, schedule 2-3.
MR. McLORG: That’s right.
MR. RODGER: Now, Madam Chair, on October 31st, 2011, each of these witnesses filed witness statements, and I’m wondering if I might be able to get an exhibit number for each of these, please?
MS. CHAPLIN: Would you like a separate number for each one?
MR. RODGER: Perhaps a separate one for each one, if we can start with Mr. Haines, please?
MS. CHAPLIN: Ms. Sebalj?
MS. SEBALJ: It will be K1.1.
MR. RODGER: And next for Mr. Couillard.
MS. SEBALJ: Sorry, I’m just trying to recall what we marked the last days. I think we used that as — we did have some exhibits. So if I can go back and mark Mr. Haines’ Exhibit as K2.1, Mr. Couillard’s exhibit as K2.2, and Mr. McLorg’s as K2.3.
EXHIBIT NO. K2.1: CV OF MR. HAINES.
EXHIBIT NO. K2.2: CV OF MR. COUILLARD.
EXHIBIT NO. K2.3: CV OF MR. MCLORG.
MR. RODGER: Now, panel, was the application and witness statements before the Board this morning prepared by you or under your supervision?
MR. COUILLARD: Yes.
MR. HAINES: Yes.
MR. McLORG: Yes.
MR. RODGER: And do you have any corrections to the evidence at this time?
MR. COUILLARD: No.
MR. HAINES: No.
MR. McLORG: No.
MR. RODGER: And is the evidence before the Board, to the best of your knowledge, an accurate reflection of the company’s affairs?
MR. COUILLARD: Yes.
MR. HAINES: Yes.
MR. McLORG: Yes.
MR. RODGER: And do you each adopt this evidence as your own evidence in this proceeding?
MR. COUILLARD: Yes.
MR. HAINES: Yes.
MR. McLORG: Yes.
MR. RODGER: Now, Madam Chair, given the witness statements that we did file on the 31st, we have no examination-in-chief for these witnesses, and, accordingly, the panel is available for cross-examination.

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Here is Exhibit K2.1 from that proceeding stating unambiguously that Haines earned a B.Comm from University of Lethbridge in 1983.

Exhibit K2-1.1_THESL_20111111

Ontario Electricity Regulation Crisis Report Part 74: Toronto Hydro Chair Declares Haines Clean, Adams Dirty

Tom — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:42:10 +0000

The newly appointed chairman of Toronto Hydro, David Williams, comments in the front page story in the National Post (print edition, now on-line here) today declaring Haines clean, but challenges “the person who’s making the accusations.”

The National Post reports Williams attempting to dismiss the basis of my complaint as the result of a “formatting error” that occurred on a single CV filed in a rate application to the Ontario Energy Board “several years ago.”

Williams floating a phoney tony “formatting error” theory doesn’t explain how Haines told the OEB that he has a University of Lethbridge B.Comm, a degree that university does not offer.

The Post article quotes Williams as saying, “We’ve reviewed all of our records including going back to 2005 [when Mr. Haines] applied for a position, and we are satisfied that there is absolutely no misrepresentation.” A routine Google search will confirm that Haines has been presenting phoney credentials to the Ontario Energy Board continuously and frequently since at least 2007.

If Haines is fired with cause — a normal course of action for someone caught lying in the company’s name — Haines is entitled to no severance. If Haines is fired without cause, the Toronto Hydro board of directors has agreed that ratepayers are on the hook for a firing bonus of over $1.7 million.

The person who is making the accusations asks whether Mr. Williams speaks on behalf the whole board and whether the comments of Mr. Williams have put ratepayers on the hook for an additional payout to Haines?

The statements about my work and attributed to me in the Post story are accurate and fairly reflect information I provided the National Post.

Ontario Electricity Regulation Crisis Report Part 73: Toronto Star Reports on the Fake Credentials

Tom — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:33:28 +0000

Here is the Toronto Star story about Toronto Hydro’s dropout CEO.

The statements about my work and attributed to me in the Star story are accurate and fairly reflect information I provided the Toronto Star.

One issue readers of the Star story might note relates to the lawyer quoted as speaking for Toronto Hydro. Immediately before getting the job of being Toronto Hydro’s VP for regulatory affairs and the utility’s general counsel, Paul Sommerville was a member of the Ontario Energy Board and was actively deliberating on Toronto Hydro cases. I have discussed the issue of Sommerville switching hats and the rotating door between regulatory and regulatee at some length in this series, including parts 32, 49, 51.

Ontario Electricity Regulation Crisis Report Part 72: University of Lethbridge Issues Statement re. Anthony Haines

Tom — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:13:30 +0000

Here is a statement issued 1:29 PM today Toronto time by the Registrar of the University of Lethbridge: Anthony Haines was enroled at the University of Lethbridge in the pre-management program from the Fall 1983 – Summer 1984. The UofL has never offered a Bachelor of Commerce Degree. Regards, Don Hunt University Registrar University of ...

Continue reading ‘Ontario Electricity Regulation Crisis Report Part 72: University of Lethbridge Issues Statement re. Anthony Haines’ »

Ontario Electricity Regulation Crisis Report Part 71: tony’s Hydro (formerly Toronto Hydro) Considering “Legal Avenues”

Tom — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:02:15 +0000

At 11:52 am, Toronto Hydro responded to an inquiry from radio station CFRB1010 regarding my allegations contained in Part 68 of this series by issuing the following comment:

OK – attached is Anthony’s resume and here’s our comment from our Chair of the Board, David Williams.
The Company has complete confidence in Mr. Haines and is confident that he has not misrepresented his credentials to the company, the Ontario Energy Board or anyone else. Toronto Hydro and Mr. Haines are considering all available legal avenues.

I have formatted the statement as closely as possible to the original I received.

The statement was introduced to me when the interviewer Jim Richards read it to me live on the radio and asked me to comment.

I have some experience with this type of strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP) initiated by utilities. Google “Adams SLAPP NB Power”

The attachment from Toronto Hydro is provided here. Notice that the attachment, which appears to be from 2005, provides information inconsistent with the CVs Haines presented to the Ontario Energy Board, as cited in my letter to Sheldon Levy, president of Ryerson University. Notice also that in the 2005 version Haines claims to have attended the University of Lethbridge from 1979-1983. AH Resume 2005

Ontario Electricity Regulation Crisis Report Part 70: Toronto Hydro’s New Direction

Tom — Thu, 09 May 2013 00:55:34 +0000

Toronto Hydro finds itself tonight in a crisis.

The stakeholders interested in the long term future of Toronto Hydro should focus on creating a new direction for the utility. Toronto Hydro’s rates are the worst of any urban utility in Ontario. Relative to what it should be, Toronto Hydro’s reliability of service is poor. The quality of service is at best mediocre.

The way Toronto Hydro plans and carries out its work must be completely reoriented. Responsibility for this rests with the board of directors. The directors’ chairs are not comfortable pews. The decisions the directors take in the next few days will influence positively or negatively the life of every Toronto citizen for years to come.

To the directors:

The people of Toronto will hold you accountable for the wisdom of your choice for replacement CEO.

Your letter of direction to the new CEO must be made public.

Financial Support Appeal for Wind Power Investigation Update

Tom — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:27:25 +0000

I have now received sufficient commitment of funds to defray the cost of the next stage of my wind power FOI to the Ontario Power Authority, along with extra funds to reserve for appeals.

Some of my regular readers would prefer that this site be shut down. If you feel that this site is making a positive contribution, please donate what you can to keep this site running.

Thank you to all my wonderful donors.

Tom

Ontario Electricity Regulation Crisis Report Part 69: Governance Changes at Toronto Hydro

Tom — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:28:25 +0000

As of yesterday, Toronto Hydro’s corporate site is reporting the new chair of the board of directors as David Williams. Mr. Williams rejoined the board March 31, 2010 after being on the Toronto Hydro board in the pre-Haines days from June 23, 1999 to August 1, 2005.

The appointment of Mr. Williams appears to have been recent. City Council has been in the process of updating the shareholder direction to Toronto Hydro. Council held an in camera session on the updated shareholder direction yesterday. Here is the agenda.

For a public securities issuer, Toronto Hydro’s reporting of its management team smells a bit weird. Check out this page of the Toronto Hydro corporate site and notice that the bios for the people who are supposed to fill the positions of CEO, VP HR, and VP Grid Management are 404.

Post Script (May 8 12:46): www.torontohydro.com now has bio summaries up for the CEO, VP HR, and VP Grid Management.

Financial Support Appeal for Wind Power Investigation

Tom — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:17:35 +0000

I need financial help to pursue my investigation of the Ontario government’s order to the Ontario Power Authority to find ways to slow the wind development juggernaut the government itself unleashed with its careless programs and subsidies.

As presented in my report originally published in the National Post “Cold feet on Ontario’s green energy mania”, the Ontario Liberals have started throttling back their green-at-any-cost energy vision.

As presented in my report “FOI Reveals Ontario Gov’t Reviewing Options to Downsize Wind Development”, my research has confirmed that the Ontario government is seeking options to mitigate its expanding wind power commitments.

Attached is a letter from the Ontario Power Authority demanding payment of $362.50 before it will release further documents to me in response to my inquiry focused on the government’s wind power downsizing initiative. As explained in the letter, I have a deadline of May 30 to make the necessary payment to keep this FOI alive.

OPA Letter Demanding Payment for FOI, April 30, 2013

Donations can be made through PayPal or by contacting me directly. This site is not a charity and does not issue receipts for income tax purposes.

Any funds collected in excess of those required for the FOI process will be used to support site maintenance and upgrades. My first development priority is to restore the popular on-board Google search capability lost during the recent, and as yet unexplained, site malfunction.