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Schmidt took some credit for the hydro plan in his speech Thursday, telling the audience that when he started at Hydro One two years ago one of the company’s first initiatives was to advocate for rate relief. Hydro One customers have seen an average 31 per cent decrease in bills, he said.

After the cut to bills this year, the government has said rate increases will be held to the rate of inflation for the next four years. The OEB will set Hydro One’s rates some time this fall.

As it considers the application, the OEB recently ordered Hydro One to cut its administrative budget by $30 million over two years. Customers shouldn’t foot the bill for “unreasonably high” compensation for Hydro One’s senior staff, the regulator said.

The total corporate management costs for Hydro One in 2014 of about $5.5 million are set to increase to $22.1 million in 2018, the OEB said.

Ontario partially privatized Hydro One, starting with an IPO in 2015 and leaving the province with just under 50 per cent ownership.

Hydro One has agreed that some of the compensation costs will be borne by the shareholders and not the customers, but Schmidt said the salaries are of fair market value.

“We would take the view that the compensation is market-based compensation to attract and retain leaders in the business,” he said. “We respect that politicians in some cases may have a different view, which is fine.”

Schmidt’s own compensation package, $4.5 million in 2016 that includes an $850,000 salary plus bonuses, has frequently come under fire from opposition politicians. The company has also reduced its costs by tens of millions of dollars over the last two years, he said, which benefits customers.