OPG boss walks away with $ 3M severance

[madmax]

Generation companies in this province are legislated not to lose money. If they overspend, they get to increase rates. If they make a purchase of natural gas stock, they get to increase rates. What a deal. Competition (deregulation) in this province has been a major flop, and has cost me thousands in additional billing. Prices go up, and I can live with that. But the bill on my house used to be $43/month. Not anymore.

Well, that is discouraging. Perhaps you are the exception. You see Ontario has deregulated, and if Alberta can't get it right.....

Regardless, it sounds like a sweetheart deal. What options are available to Albertans. Will the future be better?

And if the end user is being billed to fund the capital for a project on an individual basis, it sure does sound like a tax. It is just a private tax. You appear like an investor to build a hydro facility but don't get any shares. Only the ability to pay for the electricity, from the substation you helped to build;-).

Maybe I am wrong in my assessment.

I am interested to know. Will your hydro rates go down as more generators are built?

[geoffrey]

Generation companies in this province are legislated not to lose money. If they overspend, they get to increase rates. If they make a purchase of natural gas stock, they get to increase rates. What a deal. Competition (deregulation) in this province has been a major flop, and has cost me thousands in additional billing. Prices go up, and I can live with that. But the bill on my house used to be $43/month. Not anymore.

That's not neccessarily true. Many times the EUB and AESO come down hard on overspending. Companies are regulated to keep a tight ship.

Transmission costs have decreased since deregulation, it's the only aspect of the system that has. Energy trading has something to do with this... a little research project for anyone that's interested.

[Argus]

Well, these White Collar Workers, or quite Frankly, these Corporate Executives, don't work for a living. The live on entitlements, and then they STEAL. What else could you call it.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Workers of the world, unite!

Don't be silly. Corporate execs are there for a reason, they've got alot of value that a blue collar worker doesn't. Otherwise, the blue collar worker would be in their chair making twice the moola.

You're missing the point, Geoffrey. If the head of a corporation is a real hot shot, and has real value to the company in increasing sales, productivity and efficiency then yes, he can be a real asset and worth the money. But Hydro has been mismanaged for decades by high priced, short-sighted executives. So I don't see how this guy should be paid, what, three to four times more than the prime minister?

In the private sector it's cushy insider deals, with the friendly boards giving huge deals to the CEOs, but this is a government corporation, and as has already been stated, it doesn't take a genius to run it. You're not trying to increase sales or come out with new products here. You're not trying to develop new markets or beat out the competition. You're just trying to run the place with reasonable efficiency. And he didn't do that, nor did his predecessor. He resigned in disgrace, but still got a golden parachute worth more than most workers earn in a several lifetimes. Why? If I screw up and resign I won't get a dime. Why should he be any different?

[Hydraboss]

Generation companies in this province are legislated not to lose money. If they overspend, they get to increase rates. If they make a purchase of natural gas stock, they get to increase rates. What a deal. Competition (deregulation) in this province has been a major flop, and has cost me thousands in additional billing. Prices go up, and I can live with that. But the bill on my house used to be $43/month. Not anymore.

That's not neccessarily true. Many times the EUB and AESO come down hard on overspending. Companies are regulated to keep a tight ship.

Transmission costs have decreased since deregulation, it's the only aspect of the system that has. Energy trading has something to do with this... a little research project for anyone that's interested.

Not true. If the company hedges poorly and pays 50% more than they should for NG futures, they have the legislated ability to raise the cost of gas on your bill. Remember, this is "pass through" billing, as the residential suppliers are not allowed to make a profit on the cost of the gas (bs). So there is no incentive to buy smart because all they have to do is show that in the last quarter the cost was higher than their billing rates, and the EUB lets them retroactively increase bills. (It's called Rate Riders)

Have the transmission rates gone down in Calgary? Northern and central Alberta trans rates have gone up considerably. In fact, the suppliers up here (you know, the ones who have been around a long time) admitted about three years ago that they mistakenly underbilled southern Alberta customers and overbilled the rest of us. They were instructed to payback this overbilling to customers, but it has not been done yet. Where is the "coming down hard" part?

The more generation companies that come on line, the more our bills will stay the same. Competition is about as much a reality as the price of gas for your car. You can pay 88.9/liter here, or go across the street and pay 88.9/liter. Choices, choices, choices.