/Hydro One deal wouldn’t affect Minden 

Hydro One deal wouldn’t affect Minden 


By Chad Ingram


A sale of part of the Orillia Power Corporation to Hydro One would not impact the hydro generation facility at Minden Lake.

Last week the City of Orillia which owns the corporation announced  that it is entering talks with Hydro One about the sale of the Orillia Power Distribution Corporation.

The distribution corporation is a subsidiary of the Orillia Power Corporation as is the Orillia Power Generation Corporation which owns and operates the hydro generation station in Minden along with two others.

The prospective deal with Hydro One includes only the distribution corporation not the power generation corporation and so would not impact the Minden facility.

According to the City of Orillia the deal “could contribute $200- to $300-million in near-term economic impact on the community including the construction of a number of facilities the creation of a significant number of highly-skilled knowledge-based jobs and telecommunications upgrades within the city.”

Minden Hills council recently voted against the sale of shoreline road allowances to Orillia Power that it would have required for the construction of another generation in the community one harnessing the power of the dam at Horseshoe Lake.

While the motion was unanimously defeated Reeve Brent Devolin has said he’s open to hearing alternative project ideas from the corporation for the property it owns.