Selling off Hydro

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nobbie48

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I don't know if this has been posted but it sounds like a done deal due to a majority government. Isn't that like a farmer selling his tractor to pay his credit card debts?

What do we sell off tomorrow?
 
Please, someone defend this idea. I want to know that there is possibly a sliver of sanity behind it
 
There isn't. It's more lik the farmer selling the farm to pay the bills and keeping the tractor. Next to go will be LCBO or...
 
TwistedKestrel said:
Please, someone defend this idea. I want to know that there is possibly a sliver of sanity behind it
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A debt ridden government gets a cash injection without the need for raising taxes....except it will lead to higher power prices down the road..yea wasn't a good idea
 
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This may yet be a good idea, the current government has shown provincial intervention means when a disaster hits like the ice storm they can spend what ever is needed to keep the service running, however the day to day running of a business with any level of responsibility is beyond them. They should get out of the business. Will costs go up? probably, but don't think in some form or fashion your not paying for this mess anyway so either way your getting increases. Electric power should cost what it actually costs, not a subsidy we all pay for later.
I see it as a farmer that mismanaged the farm to the point his family had to give him a bail out fund for years, after he got all the money he still couldn't figure out how to milk that cow and make money, so he sold the farm , he kept the tractor so he could drive around and visit his other stupid ideas.
 
So just like voting this too becomes a choice of the lesser evils?
 
selling of strategic capital assets is a big mistake.. they should've structured it sort of like a preferred dividend stocks.
-at the most they should have leased the system to private groups with a cap on end user prices(build in say 25% profit)..
-retirement funds would've loved that sorta investment..
-province gets big waad of cash upfront..
-province retains ownership of premium assets..
-private management brings in efficiency to maximize profits.
-every body wins
 
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Why should there be any emphasis on profit from electricity generation itself? Isn't electricity, especially in a cold country like Canada, an essential component to survival? The profits from electricity should be collateral. Lower electricity bills for residential means billions into the economy and for industry it helps compete in the global economy. Most electricity is natural resource driven. What's next, a private company is going to sell me a cup of Lake Ontario water?
 
Hydro pfft. Privatized that cash cow, it's a big ******* joke, worked at Nuclear plant for 8 years. Did about 2 hours max of actual work every 12 hour shift. Slept, watched movies, bbq'd, cart raced, worked out, then would leave 4 hours early most of the time. Actually probably the best job in my life. The quote that goes on around there a lot is "hide and seek (from boss) for a grand a week". Plenty of **** all getting done over there, and it's partly why our bills keep rising.
 
I'm selling a lot of my wifes pension stocks to get ready for this. A few thousand dollars invested in Enbridge now and it's done quite well (gains+dividends pay a couple gas bills a year). I'm of the theory that if someone's business plan is to open season up your ***, you might as well get paid for it.
As to the how's/why's/should's blabla doesn't really matter. Ontario is financially screwed (like Greece and Quebec) and they have to make some desperate steps. This is one they chose. Libtards gonna tard. Full retard. They never saw Tropic Thunder I guess.

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I'm not saying go all in on the stock, or making a recommendation to buy, just saying what I'm personally planning for my wife and why, who doesn't do anything moneywise for herself... (I'm required to say that).
 
REDBALLS said:
Hydro pfft. Privatized that cash cow, it's a big ****ing joke, worked at Nuclear plant for 8 years. Did about 2 hours max of actual work every 12 hour shift. Slept, watched movies, bbq'd, cart raced, worked out, then would leave 4 hours early most of the time. Actually probably the best job in my life. The quote that goes on around there a lot is "hide and seek (from boss) for a grand a week". Plenty of **** all getting done over there, and it's partly why our bills keep rising.
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I had a service call to a gen plant and they gave me a safety man because they had to by rules. When he saw there was absolutely no danger to me he went to the lounge and read a newspaper on overtime. If anyone checked the books there was a safety man.

My brother was taking some computer courses and another student was an injured hydro worker. Due to his injuries he had to be re-trained for other work but he was two years from retirement. He took expensive courses for two years while on full salary and then retired. If he didn't take the courses they wouldn't have paid his salary. He would have preferred to just sit at home saving hydro $30K.

There was an elevator at one plant that NEEDED an operator. You couldn't just push the buttons yourself. Except when the operator was at lunch. Then it was OK to push the buttons.

If it didn't cost so much it would be funny.
 
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I've done time at the Bruce, Ontario Power Generation Nanticoke and recently Grand River Samsung solar farm. It's true as stated above. Anybody who sets foot on the premises is handsomely rewarded. Stories of cost over runs in any project that's government funded are legion. Can that not be fixed? Is the answer private ownership without reduced rates and profits tax dodged off shore?
 
nobbie48 said:
I had a service call to a gen plant and they gave me a safety man because they had to by rules. When he saw there was absolutely no danger to me he went to the lounge and read a newspaper on overtime. If anyone checked the books there was a safety man.

My brother was taking some computer courses and another student was an injured hydro worker. Due to his injuries he had to be re-trained for other work but he was two years from retirement. He took expensive courses for two years while on full salary and then retired. If he didn't take the courses they wouldn't have paid his salary. He would have preferred to just sit at home saving hydro $30K.

There was an elevator at one plant that NEEDED an operator. You couldn't just push the buttons yourself. Except when the operator was at lunch. Then it was OK to push the buttons.

If it didn't cost so much it would be funny.
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inreb said:
I've done time at the Bruce, Ontario Power Generation Nanticoke and recently Grand River Samsung solar farm. It's true as stated above. Anybody who sets foot on the premises is handsomely rewarded. Stories of cost over runs in any project that's government funded are legion. Can that not be fixed? Is the answer private ownership without reduced rates and profits tax dodged off shore?
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unfortunately thats the problem with govt jobs and union jobs... salary guaranteed.. this is not the case for private sector... you want pay..WORKK 200%.

instead of selling 407.. if we had leased it.. we would have still owned it.. we still would've had a big *** wad of cash.. and the lease would've had a maturity date.. meaning we would be in control again.... but NOOO we had to sell it.. now look at the toll costs. i am not saying this is the only solution or even the best.

but considering our current fiscal condition.. its the best COMPROMISE solution... if efficiency is your answer then i suggest you(all of us) get off that pot and smell some fresh air.. in GOVT sector thats simple not happening.
 
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Seems like the federal and provincial governments are both in a new trend of 'seeling one time public asesets' to patch their budgests without thinking about the fuuture. Kicking the can down the road for whoever that needs to deal with it later.

Conservatives also sold GM. Youre not doing anything amazing when you balance your budget by selling what we have acquired over the decades!
 
ashkan said:
Seems like the federal and provincial governments are both in a new trend of 'seeling one time public asesets' to patch their budgests without thinking about the fuuture. Kicking the can down the road for whoever that needs to deal with it later.

Conservatives also sold GM. Youre not doing anything amazing when you balance your budget by selling what we have acquired over the decades!
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true that....
asset priorities list IMHO:
preserve value--- no more sales
reach cash flow--- lease or license only
seek growth-- use funds from^ to create new assets.
 
Labour costs aren't the biggest problem in the energy sector. Inefficiencies and mismanagement are the culprit. Running huge projects seems to be beyond the scope of the human mind, so the fix becomes shovelling money at it 'til it's done.
 
REDBALLS said:
Hydro pfft. Privatized that cash cow, it's a big ******* joke, worked at Nuclear plant for 8 years. Did about 2 hours max of actual work every 12 hour shift. Slept, watched movies, bbq'd, cart raced, worked out, then would leave 4 hours early most of the time. Actually probably the best job in my life. The quote that goes on around there a lot is "hide and seek (from boss) for a grand a week". Plenty of **** all getting done over there, and it's partly why our bills keep rising.
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I believe in its entirety
 
shahfaisal said:
unfortunately thats the problem with govt jobs and union jobs... salary guaranteed.. this is not the case for private sector... you want pay..WORKK 200%.

instead of selling 407.. if we had leased it.. we would have still owned it.. we still would've had a big *** wad of cash.. and the lease would've had a maturity date.. meaning we would be in control again.... but NOOO we had to sell it.. now look at the toll costs. i am not saying this is the only solution or even the best.

but considering our current fiscal condition.. its the best COMPROMISE solution... if efficiency is your answer then i suggest you(all of us) get off that pot and smell some fresh air.. in GOVT sector thats simple not happening.
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Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the 407 deal was a 99 year lease. The other part of that screw-up is some of the clauses. The government can't do anything that would affect profit, ie control rates or permit another highway.

If the 407 consortium can charge what it wants why would the government lease off that cash cow instead of keeping the money for itself?
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