Local control of electric utility switches off Thursday

Ken Johnston
Editor

This Thursday, 2:30 p.m. marks the end of nearly a century of local control of Rainy River's electric system. That is when Hydro One officially takes over the local electric utility, which was sold last fall by the previous town council.

The first electric lighting plant was installed in 1908 by W.H. Green.

He owned and operated it for ten years and then the Town of Rainy River purchased it from him. When Green first installed the system he put in a 125 horsepower engine and a 150 horsepower boiler. A new 133 cycle generator was installed in 1916.

In 1918 town council received a report from Mr. H. D. Booker, an electrical engineer from Fort William who said the system was in very good shape and well worth the $28,000 price tag. He noted that it would cost about $50,000 to replace. "It is up to the ratepayers to say if they want to get a hold of something to work for them," said Booker.

Council of the day opted to pass a bylaw to purchase the plant only after such an offer was approved by the ratepayers who voted on the purchase August 12, 1918. On Aug. 20, 1918 the bylaw came into effect after a majority of the public voted in favour of the purchase.

Over the years progress brought about changes and eventually the Town purchased its power from Ontario Hydro and stopped generating its own power. It still maintained the lines, lights, poles and transformers.

Last year council was given the opportunity to sell the utility. In view of a changing electric marketplace, council decided after public consultation, to sell the utility for more than $500,000. The decision was a difficult one and saw council decide not to sell it at one meeting and then when the anti was upped by Hydro One they opted to sell last November.

As a result of the sale citizens received their last local power bill last week. The next bill will come from Hydro One and will be for two months at a time. Rate payers will also face an 8% increase in power in June as announced by the province last month.

The Rainy River Public Utilities Commission also ran and looked after the town's water and sewer system. The town has opted to retain that responsibility and will bill quarterly for it; a bill that also was received last week.

After Thursday citizens must call Hydro One to report any emergencies or power outages at 1-800-461-5116. Hydro One crews based out of Fort Frances will respond to the calls.