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The important thing about Hydro One’s recently announced acquisition of an American power company is not that it gives our former public utility a tiny stake in an American coal-fired power plant, although the premier’s efforts to justify it have been amusing.

What does matter is what the $4.4-billion deal tells us about Hydro One’s priorities. The company’s focus is clearly on expanding into the U.S., not serving Ontario customers better.

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In buying Avista, Hydro One is simply doing what businesses do, growing wherever it can to boost earnings and share prices. The key indicator of success is meeting the short-term expectations of the stock market.

Contrast that to the old, government-owned Hydro One. Its mandate was to be a safe, reliable and cost-effective transmitter and distributor of electricity in Ontario. Sure, the company made money for the government, but that wasn’t its reason for being.