Avista, Hydro One try to move on

by Judd Wilson Staff Writer
| August 17, 2018 1:00 AM

COEUR d’ALENE — Hydro One named its new board of directors on Tuesday and wants to get the purchase of Avista Utilities back on track.

The Province of Ontario, which owns 47.4 percent of the company, selected four of the 10 new directors: Thomas D. Woods, Cherie Brant, Blair Cowper-Smith, and Russel Robertson. The remaining six — Anne Giardini, David Hay, Timothy Hodgson, Jessica McDonald, William Sheffield, and Melissa Sonberg — were selected by a committee made up of the five largest shareholders in Hydro One, excluding the province.

The new directors selected Woods to serve as their interim chair. However, Hydro One does not have a permanent successor to former CEO Mayo Schmidt, who was ousted July 11.

According to the companies’ Wednesday motion, Avista Customer Group rebuffed a request to continue the process. Avista Customer Group attorney Norm Semanko cited the Idaho Public Utilities Commission’s July 20 order delaying a previously scheduled July 23 technical hearing on the Avista sale as the reason for the rebuff. The July 20 PUC order required the approval process to remain on hold until Hydro One had both a new board and a new CEO. The company’s chief financial officer, Paul Dobson, is acting CEO.

The two companies disagree, and argued that waiting until a new CEO is in place would put Idaho behind Washington and Oregon in approving the sale, and could cause the sale to remain on hold until 2019. The two neighboring states have each scheduled a final decision by Dec. 14.

“Hydro One and Avista respectfully request that the Commission issue an order directing the parties to this proceeding to meet and confer to establish a proposed procedural schedule for this proceeding at this time,” the companies said.

In their motion, the companies explained that Hydro One would act “with all deliberate speed” in naming a new CEO. They asked the PUC to order all parties to “meet and confer, either electronically or by teleconference, to develop a proposed procedural schedule and to submit a proposed procedural schedule to the Commission by August 30, 2018.” Hydro One said its senior staff would testify as to the company’s legal and financial status at that time.

PUC spokesman Matt Evans said the motion would likely appear on the commission’s Aug. 21 meeting agenda.