TORONTO

Premier Kathleen Wynne refuses to rule out a partial sale of Hydro One to pay for needed infrastructure improvements.

Wynne asked banker Ed Clark and an advisory panel to look at government assets to find ways to maximize their value to help cover the multibillion-dollar cost of new transit projects and other infrastructure priorities.

It was unclear what impact selling a 10% to 15% minority stake in Hydro One, as reported by the Globe and Mail, would have on electricity prices down the road.

“Whatever we do, we are going to control prices,” Wynne insisted Tuesday. “We are going to make sure that the regulatory regimes that will protect people in this province stay in place.”

Wynne added she is still waiting for Clark’s report and has not made any final decisions.

She dismissed the notion that there’s a comparison between her government’s plans and the sale of Hwy. 407 by the former PC government of Mike Harris.

“We are not going to divest an asset that was a huge value and then not make it work for the people of the province,” Wynne said. “There’s no long-lasting benefit that accrued to the people of the province by the process that a previous government underwent with the 407.”

Hydro One is owned by Ontario taxpayers and Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli offered assurances Tuesday that they will continue to hold a “significant” ownership interest even if the government proceeds with a public offering.

NDP MPP Peter Tabuns predicted hydro consumers would pay a steep price if any portion of the electricity distribution company is sold off because the private sector would expect to make a profit on its investment.

The negative impact of similar private deals — under both Liberal and Tory governments — has shown up on hydro bills, he said.

“People in Ontario paying high prices now are going to be paying much higher prices in the future if the Liberals go ahead with this,” Tabuns said, adding if Hydro One customers are unhappy with their current bills, “get ready for the rocket to go up.”

PC MPP Vic Fedeli said there’s no legal guarantee that any proceeds from the sale of Hydro One will go to infrastructure, predicting the cash-strapped Liberal government will use the money to reduce its deficit.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa countered the government has set up a special fund for these proceeds to be used to pay for infrastructure.

antonella.artuso@sunmedia.ca