In early November, the provincial government announced that it was appointing an AdvisoryCommittee on phasing in competition in the provincial electrical industry. The committee is led byDonald MacDonald, whose experience with several federal cabinet portfolios, including Energy,Mines and Resources and former Privy Council president, will be invaluable in leading thecommittee in its deliberations. Its mandate is to evaluate options for phasing in competition inthree areas: structural changes to the electric utility industry; regulatory reform to ensure a healthycompetitive environment; and introduction of private equity in the electric utility sector. Thecommittee has a tight deadline of the end of April to present its report.
The second event that occurred on that November day was the announcement of WilliamFarlinger as the new Chairman of Ontario Hydro. He replaces Maurice Strong, under whoseleadership Ontario Hydro so strongly benefited during the past three years.
When Strong arrived in December of 1992, he found, to use his own words, "a corporation in crisis."He moved swiftly to change that and within four months of his arrival, the mostfar-reaching and dramatic changes in Hydro's history were developed, discussed and deployed.The result of those changes is a utility that has kept rate increases at or below zero for the pastthree years, reduced staffing through voluntary programs by more than 10,000 positions and gonefrom a year where it suffered a $3.6 billion loss to a year where it recorded a record net income of$855 million. Ontario Hydro is now a strong and resilient utility better prepared to enter thecompetitive marketplace the MacDonald committee is helping to define.
Farlinger, like Strong, brings with him extensive experience in a business service background thatconsists of both private and public sector involvement.
On the financial side, Ontario Hydro appears to have exceeded its net income projections of some$600 million. The Corporation also continued with its aggressive debt reduction program, aprogram that will see debt levels reduced to about $26.6 billion by 1999, down from our presentdebt of $33.2 billion.
From an operating perspective, 1995 saw the return to service of three of the four units at thePickering nuclear station that were shut down in December of 1994 following the heavy waterspill at Unit 2. We also got approval to get Unit 2 back on the system, which will be a positiveboost for the nuclear business.
On the delivery side of the business, there were a number of things that stand out. Our ElectricityExchange signed a multi-year contract to supply Michigan during the summer months. We alsoregistered a new summer peak record of 21,770 MWs in August.
And of course, a look back at 1995 would not be complete without mentioning what has beendubbed by cottagers as "The Storm". Last July, more than 150,000 Hydro customers werewithout power after tornadoes and high winds lashed the province. Thanks to the dedicatedefforts of our retail staff, with help from municipal utilities, who poured into the affected areasfrom all over the province, the bulk of these customers had their power on within a few days.Ontario Hydro veterans said the storm damage was the worst they had ever experienced and it is atestament to the quality of our staff that power was restored so quickly.