Governance and Regulation in the Electricity Sector: Balancing Independance with Accountability

Conference Overview

The conference organizers extend our appreciation to the nearly 100 thought-leaders that participated in the Governance and Regulation in the Electricity Sector: Balancing Independence with Accountability event. The conference was presented in partnership with the Council for Clean & Reliable Electricity, the Richard Ivey School of Business - University of Western Ontario and the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy - University of Waterloo.

The intent of the conference was to look for opportunities to improve governance of crown corporations and regulatory agencies related to the electicity industry. As governments across Canada become increasingly involved in energy matters we are seeing broader demands being placed on public agencies of all types - including regulators and utilities - who are in the front line of implementing government policy yet who often have governance structures defined more narrowly to meet yesterday's needs.

The presentations and public debate that occurred during the conference provided critical insight into the initiatives and next steps planned by the organizers. A Draft Policy Paper, a factual Summary Report on the preceedings prepared by University of Western Professor Adam Fremeth, and a Final Report prepared by Professor Guy Holburn, Director, Energy at Ivey, University of Western.

For further information and updates please refer to the Council for Clean & Reliable Electricity website at www.thinkingpower.ca. Presentation materials from the conference, the Commissioned Governance Report and the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-owned Enterprises are currently available on the website, as well as materials from previous events including coal, distributed generation, biomass and nuclear.

We look forward to your continued involvement in the initiatives and next steps.

GLEN WRIGHT Chair Council for Clean & Reliable Electricity

GUY HOLBURN Associate Professor Director, Energy @ Ivey University of Western Ontario

JATIN NATHWANI Executive Director Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy University of Waterloo

Conference Information

• Guidelines for Governance of the Electricity Sector in Canada - Final Report - January 2011
• Governance and Regulation in the Electricity Sector - Summary Report
• Conference Information
• Agenda
• Welcome Letter
• Background Report
• Conference Initiatives and Next Steps
  
  
• Background Document - OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-owned Enterprises
• Journal of Policy Engagement article (visit the Professional Engineers of Ontario website)
• Research paper - Policy Risk and Private Investment in Ontario's Wind Power Sector
• Toronto Star article
• Overview of the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE)
  
  
• Welcome and Opening Remarks
  • Glen Wright, Chair, Council for Clean & Reliable Electricity
  • Introductory Presentation - Jan Carr, former CEO, Ontario Power Authority and former Vice Chair, Ontario Energy Board
  
  
• Session 1: Governance of Regulatory Agencies
  • Panel Chair: George Todd, former Founding President and CEO Barrie Hydro
  • Participants:
    • Regulatory Governance and Policy Risk: Attracting Private Investment in (Renewable) Energy - Guy Holburn, Associate Professor, Business, Economics and Public Policy, Director, Energy @ Ivey, Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario
    • Robert Warren, Partner, Weir Foulds (Speaker's Notes)
    • Sean Conway, former Cabinet Minister, Government of Ontario; Fellow, School of Policy Studies, Queen's University
  
  
• Session 2: Academic Perspectives
  • Panel Chair: Guy Holburn, Director, Energy @ Ivey, University of Western Ontario
  • Participants:
    • Governance, Governance, Governance - Len Waverman, Dean, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary
    • Electricity sector governance in the UK - George Yarrow, Chairman, Regulatory Policy Institute and Emeritus Fellow, Hertford College, Oxford University
  
  
• Keynote Address
  • Chair: Ron Stewart, former President & CEO, Ottawa Hydro
  • Terence Corcoran, Editor and Columnist, The Financial Post
  
  
• Session 3: Lessons from International Experience
  • Panel Chair: Frank Carnevale, President & CEO, Bridgepoint Group Ltd.
  • Participants:
    • Governance and the Electricity Sector: International Experience - Jeff Makholm, SVP, NERA Consultants
    • ISO-New England Governance Structure - Roberta Brown, Board Member, IESO (Ontario) and ISO-NE (New England)
    • JoAnne Butler, Vice President Generation, Ontario Power Authority, former President, TransAlta Mexico
  
  
• Session 4: Governance of State-owned Utilities
  • Panel Chair: Jatin Nathwani, Executive Director, Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy; Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo
  • Participants:
    • EPCOR Supportive Governance Model - Don Lowry, President & CEO, EPCOR Utilities Inc.
    • David Hay, former CEO, New Brunswick Power
    • Glenna Carr, Chairperson, Atomic Energy Canada Ltd.
  
  
• Session 5: Panel Discussion - Policy Report and Future Research
  • Moderator: Jan Carr, former CEO, Ontario Power Authority and former Vice Chair, Ontario Energy Board
  • Objective, Structure & Questions
  • Participants:
    • Brian Armstrong, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Bruce Power
    • Guy Holburn, Director, Energy @ Ivey, University of Western Ontario
    • Don MacKinnon, President, Power Workers Union
    • Eileen Mercier, Chair, Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan Board
  
  

Contact Us

governance@thinkingpower.ca

Thank you to our Sponsors: