Ontario Electricity Regulation Crisis Report Part 108: Electricity Distributors Award the Future

Last night, Toronto Hydro’s CEO Anthony Haines received another award from the Ontario Electrical Distributors Association (EDA) at the organization’s annual gala. The EDA’s press release says that Mr. Haines was recognized for “his highly effective public communication leadership during the December ice storm.”

Anyone familiar with Mr. Haines’ track record of false signals to customers about power restoration after the ice storm might wonder what the EDA was actually rewarding.

Mr. Haines has a list of achievement that the EDA members admire, but they are not achievements that fit nicely on the plaque.

First and foremost, the EDA members admire Mr. Haine for his record-breaking salary, which last year passed $959K before adding in special pension gains. In an sector that once considered $200K per year an unbreakable ceiling, Mr. Haines leads the way to new standards in compensation.

Mr. Haines has demonstrated that lying about one’s credentials is no barrier to achievement, including gaining the position of chair of the Canadian Electrical Association.

He has also distinguished himself in the minds of the distribution sector by outplaying the distribution industry’s weakling regulator, the Ontario Energy Board. Where once the Ontario Energy Board required the EDA members to move toward incentive regulation which would have kept distribution rate increases to about the rate of inflation, Mr. Haines has proven that rate increases far above the inflation rate can be rubber stamped. Toronto Hydro not only pays its CEO the most, but it also charges by far the most of any comparable distributor.

Mr. Haines has demonstrated his muscle hiring away a member of the Energy Board itself, Paul Sommerville, making a mockery of historic principles that sought to prevent conflicts of interest in regulation.

Rarely does a year go by when the EDA does not issue an award to Toronto Hydro. Last year the award was for “raising awareness about their corporate responsibility“. In 2011, the award was for “Innovation” for such issues as educating consumers not to charge cell phones during the day. In 2010, the award was for “innovation“ in the introduction of time-of-use pricing and smart metering.

The EDA’s steady applause for Mr. Haines reveals the electrifying ambitions driving Ontario’s distribution sector into the future.

6 Comments

  1. It’s becoming a joke about how these various organizations award one another but these activities make good PR.

  2. Barb, you are so right! How about this one a few years ago: ” Hydro One has received the Canadian Electricity Association’s (CEA) 2010 Sustainable Electricity Social Responsibility Award in recognition of its leadership in engaging its stakeholders. ” They have since proved their customers don’t need to be engaged nor are they considered stakeholders–they just pay. Now that is social responsibility eh!

  3. Why bother earning university credentials,when you can just claim them because of typographical or syntactic errors in sworn testimony? This clown should be fired. If he’s not been truthful about his academic record, what else has he not been truthful about?

  4. For over two years, Mr. Adams researched and reported numerous examples of Anthony Haines’ corrupt practices at Toronto Hydro.

    For example, Tom reported that Mr. Haines had transferred $2.5 M of Toronto Hydro taxpayer/ratepayer dollars to Ryerson University in exchange for an honorary doctor of laws degree (could that be to cover Mr. Haines’ academic credential embarrassment?). However, once this corrupt plan was exposed, no honourable academic institution could publicly bestow any honour of any kind on Mr. Haines.

    Gradually, even reluctantly, mainstream media began to report Tom’s negative information exposing Mr. Haines as a liar. To counter, Mr. Haines silenced negative media coverage, directing Toronto Hydro into massive spending of taxpayer/ratepayer dollars on self-serving ad’s in an effort to blunt further media investigations or reports.

    Early this year, CUPE 1 took full advantage of Mr. Haines’ vulnerability when union leaders quietly renegotiated a favourable new contract with Toronto Hydro – instead of exposing Anthony Haines as a liar and a cheat and demanding his immediate resignation.

    It is amazing Mr. Haines has gotten away with his scams for so long. He continues to freely spend ratepayer/taxpayer money to buy media and union silence. Hopefully, his corrupt practices at Toronto Hydro will emerge as a very contentious political hot potato in the upcoming municipal election.

  5. Pingback: Energy Council of Canada recognizes Toronto Hydro CEO | Tom Adams Energy - ideas for a smarter grid

  6. Pingback: Toronto Hydro CEO Anthony Haines Wins OEA Award | Tom Adams Energy - ideas for a smarter grid

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