Municipal councils approve Memorandum of Understanding for proposed Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro and Waterloo North Hydro merger

Public information sessions on October 19

Kitchener/Waterloo/Wellesley/Wilmot/Woolwich, Ontario, October 6, 2021 – The municipal councils of Kitchener, Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich have approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as a first step in the proposed merger of Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro and Waterloo North Hydro. The approvals, which came on October 4 and 5, follow the October 1 announcement that Kitchener Power Corporation and Waterloo North Hydro Holding Corporation are proposing a merger of the utilities.

Now that all five participating municipal councils have approved the MOU, community engagement on the proposed merger begins. Customers and residents of the municipalities of Kitchener, Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich are encouraged to visit www.connectinglocalpower.ca to learn more about the proposed merger and provide feedback.

Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro and Waterloo North Hydro will host joint public information sessions on Tuesday, October 19 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the public information sessions will be held online along with access by telephone.

Customers and residents can register for the virtual public information sessions at www.connectinglocalpower.ca, by email at info@connectinglocalpower.ca or by telephone at 519-747-6334 ext. 78334.

Following the public information sessions and community engagement initiative, the five municipal councils are expected to make a final decision on the proposed merger in December 2021. If approved by the five municipal councils, the merger application will be submitted thereafter to the Ontario Energy Board for regulatory approval, which is expected by the third quarter of 2022. The new company is expected to begin operations soon after regulatory approval.

Like several other local power utilities in communities across Ontario, Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro and Waterloo North Hydro are planning to take the next step in their ongoing collaboration efforts by combining operations to create a larger, local and publicly-owned power utility that will provide reliable service, invest in new technologies, generate savings through operational efficiencies and keep local jobs in our communities.

Quotes

“Our board welcomes the news that Waterloo North Hydro’s municipal shareholders, the councils of Waterloo, Woolwich, and Wellesley, have approved the Memorandum of Understanding supporting this proposed merger. We believe this is a good deal for the three municipalities and Waterloo North Hydro’s customers. This larger, locally-owned utility will have more resources to invest in technologies that benefit customers while helping our communities’ transition to a lower carbon economy. We look forward to hearing from customers and community members in the coming weeks.”– David Petras, Chair, Waterloo North Hydro Holding Corporation.

“Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro welcomes the approval of a Memorandum of Understanding by the municipal councils of Kitchener and Wilmot. Waterloo North Hydro is a natural merger partner for Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro given the utilities’ shared values, strong record of dedicated service to customers and vision to build a stronger utility that can invest in our future. This is a win-win-win scenario for customers, municipal shareholders and employees. We’re excited to start our public engagement and receive feedback from community members of all five municipalities.” - Jim Phillips, Chair, Kitchener-Power Corporation.

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Contact
David Brenneman
Chief Administrative Officer, Township of Woolwich
dbrenneman@woolwich.ca

Patrick Kelly
Director of Corporate Services / Treasurer, Township of Wilmot
patrick.kelly@wilmot.ca

Rik Louwagie
Chief Administrative Officer, Township of Wellesley
rlouwagie@wellesley.ca

Bethany Rowland
Director, Corporate Communications and Marketing, City of Kitchener
bethany.rowland@kitchener.ca
226-752-9038

Tony Iavarone
Director of Communications, City of Waterloo
tony.Iavarone@waterloo.ca
519-998-9777