Ontario's largest energy company has <a href="https://www.hydroone.com/abouthydroone/RegulatoryInformation/txrates/Documents/HONI%20Notice%20of%20Motion%20to%20Review%20and%20Vary%20October%2018%202017.pdf">formally appealed</a> an Ontario Energy Board ruling that prevents it from passing on some of its privatization costs to transmission customers.
The OEB ruling meant Hydro One couldn't dump the costs of its privatization on customers, and would need to defer or decrease expenses or reallocate capital to pay for it.
The ruling from Ontario's independent energy regulator protected customers from paying $50 million in privatization costs over two years. The money originally came from favourable tax savings following its 2015 IPO.
In an expected move, Hydro One has filed a motion to review and vary a ruling that was potentially costly to the company.
The appeal is based on what the company argues are factual errors in the previous ruling, including the assertion that the company's payments in lieu of taxes were variable. The appeal also takes issue with the finding that the departure tax was effectively Hydro One, then government-owned, paying itself to preserve its exempt utility status.
In a statement, a Hydro One spokesperson wrote:
<blockquote>Our motion to review is designed to seek clarity and confirmation on the issue of the departure tax. The outcome of the OEB’s decision will have implications on our shareholders and our largest shareholder, the Government of Ontario, who paid for the departure tax.</blockquote>
Minister of Energy Glenn Thibeault's office wrote that they will continue to monitor the appeal, but declined to support a particular stakeholder in the dispute.
<blockquote>As the independent, arms-length regulator of the Province's energy sector, the OEB continues to balance the interests of consumers with those of utilities. The province will continue to review the decision carefully and monitor the appeal as it moves through the process. As part of its decision, the board reduced Hydro One’s ask by $278 million over two years for administrative and capital expenditure costs. This is a reduction of almost 10 per cent of what Hydro One asked for.</blockquote>
No date has been set for the appeal.

Hydro One appeals Ontario Energy Board tax ruling

Read this for free.