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International Control Dam

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89-690: The International Control Dam , also known as the International Control Structure , operated by Ontario Power Generation , is a weir that controls the water diversions from the Niagara River and dispatches the water between the New York Power Authority and Ontario Power Generation in accordance with the terms of the 1950 Niagara Treaty. It was completed in 1954. To preserve Niagara Falls ' natural beauty and to ensure an "unbroken curtain of water"

178-505: A joint-stock company . Separately, privatization can refer to the purchase of all outstanding shares of a publicly traded company by private equity investors, which is more often called "going private" . Before and after this process the company is privately owned, but after the buyout its shares are withdrawn from being traded at a public stock exchange . The term privatizing first appeared in English, with quotation marks, in

267-558: A small modular reactor (SMR) at the Darlington new nuclear site, the only site in Canada currently licensed for a new nuclear build. The project is expected to be completed as early as 2028. OPG has made some investments in alternative electricity generation. By 2014, OPG had stopped burning coal to generate electricity. Thermal electricity-generating stations were traditionally coal-fired, creating problems caused by pollution. While

356-435: A "People's Inquiry into Privatisation" (2016/17) found that the impact of privatisation on communities was negative. The report from the inquiry "Taking Back Control" made a range of recommendations to provide accountability and transparency in the process. The report highlighted privatisation in healthcare, aged care, child care, social services, government departments, electricity, prisons and vocational education featuring

445-473: A complete scope analysis before starting on the project. Due to the uproar over the large cost overruns and delays, an independent review committee was commissioned to examine the future role of OPG in the electricity sector; the future structure of OPG; the appropriate corporate governance and senior management structure; and the potential refurbishing of Pickering A Units 1, 2, and 3. Former federal Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister John Manley chaired

534-429: A diverse fleet that includes 65 hydroelectric stations and two nuclear stations, OPG's power is more than 99 per cent free of smog and greenhouse gas emissions." Prior to shutting down its coal-fueled generating stations, OPG attracted considerable controversy for the operation of coal-fired generating stations, which ranked among Canada's largest individual air pollution sources. This was mostly because Nanticoke housed

623-696: A federal joint review panel (JRP), on 6 May 2015 the JRP issued the EA Report and recommended the approval of OPG's DGR to the federal government. In February 2016, the Federal Minister of the Environment and Climate Change delayed a decision on OPG's DGR, causing a pause in the timeline for the EA decision to be issued. While the JRP had recommended to the federal government the project move forward based on

712-414: A form of a secured loan and are criticized as a "particularly noxious form of governmental debt". In this interpretation, the upfront payment from the privatization sale corresponds to the principal amount of the loan, while the proceeds from the underlying asset correspond to secured interest payments—the transaction can be considered substantively the same as a secured loan, though it is structured as

801-479: A massive 3,900 MW of generation capacity in one site: it produced "the most pollution in one site" despite being a reasonably clean plant per megawatt of power. Nanticoke Generating Station was North America's largest coal-fired generating station and the single largest air pollution source for southern Ontario and northern New York state, attracting considerable criticism from environmentalists and legislators in both jurisdictions. OPG's Lambton Generating Station

890-753: A more cautious and nuanced evaluation of privatization" and that "private ownership alone is no longer argued to automatically generate economic gains in developing economies". According to a 2008 study published in Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics , liberalization and privatization have produced mixed results. Although typically there are many costs associated with these efficiency gains, many economists argue that these can be dealt with by appropriate government support through redistribution and perhaps retraining . Yet, some empirical literature suggests that privatization could also have very modest effects on efficiency and quite regressive distributive impact. In

979-486: A natural and inevitable societal correction emerges to undermine the contradictions of capitalism. This was the case in the 2000 Cochabamba protests . Privatization in Latin America has invariably experienced increasing push-back from the public. Mary Shirley from The Ronald Coase Institute suggests that implementing a less efficient but more politically mindful approach could be more sustainable. In India,

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1068-537: A new corporate campus would be built in Clarington , Ontario, that will also house Ontario Power Generation's headquarters. On 13 February 2023, OPG announced they completed a deal to purchase the former head office building for General Motors of Canada in Oshawa , Ontario, for their new headquarters, with plans to open in 2024. Original plans called for a new building to be constructed in Clarington , Ontario, at

1157-401: A process of deregulation . The term may also be used descriptively for something that has always been private, but could be public in other jurisdictions. There are also private entities that may perform public functions. These entities could also be described as privatized. Privatization may mean the government sells state-owned businesses to private interests, but it may also be discussed in

1246-685: A reliable, clean source of base load electricity during refurbishment of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station and the initial Bruce Nuclear refurbishments. Any plan to extend Pickering's life requires approval from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). OPG is currently working on a licence application to the CNSC for approval in 2018. On 2 December 2021, OPG announced a partnership with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to deploy

1335-556: A sale. This interpretation is particularly argued to apply to recent municipal transactions in the United States, particularly for fixed term, such as the 2008 sale of the proceeds from Chicago parking meters for 75 years. It is argued that this is motivated by "politicians' desires to borrow money surreptitiously", due to legal restrictions on and political resistance to alternative sources of revenue, viz, raising taxes or issuing debt. Privatization had different outcomes around

1424-641: A similar reservoir on the US side behind the Robert Moses Power Plant . A trade-off exists between the two main industries of tourism and hydroelectric power. More water is diverted by the International Control Dam at night, between 10:00 pm and 7:00 am, filling the reservoirs overnight and allowing more water over Niagara Falls in the daytime hours for the tourists. As well, during the winter, from November 1 to March 31, when it

1513-478: A specialist in ancient history, posits that economic inequality and wealth concentration in the top percentile "had been made possible by the transfer of state assets to private owners." In Latin America, on the one hand, according to John Nellis's research for Center for Global Development , economic indicators, including firm profitability, productivity, and growth, project positive microeconomic results. On

1602-625: A stock market with high capital. Voucher privatization occurred mainly in the transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe, such as Russia , Poland , the Czech Republic , and Slovakia . Additionally, privatization from below had made important contribution to economic growth in transition economies. In one study assimilating some of the literature on "privatization" that occurred in Russian and Czech Republic transition economies,

1691-741: A survey by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) – Utilization of Free Medical Services by Children Belonging to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) in Private Hospitals in New Delhi, 2011–12: A Rapid Appraisal – indicates under-utilization of the free beds available for EWS category in private hospitals in Delhi, though they were allotted land at subsidized rates. In Australia

1780-535: A synonym for deregulation when a heavily regulated private company or industry becomes less regulated. Government functions and services may also be privatised (which may also be known as "franchising" or "out-sourcing"); in this case, private entities are tasked with the implementation of government programs or performance of government services that had previously been the purview of state-run agencies. Some examples include revenue collection, law enforcement , water supply , and prison management . Another definition

1869-412: A transition to "effective private sector owners [of former] state assets". Rather than mainly participating in a market economy, these individuals could prefer elevating their personal status or prefer accumulating political power. Instead, outside foreign investment led to the efficient conduct of former state assets in the private sector and market economy. Through privatization by direct asset sale or

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1958-448: Is flowing over the falls, the 1950 treaty was signed by the U.S. and Canada to limit water usage by power plants. The treaty allows higher summertime diversion at night when tourists are fewer and during the winter months when there are even fewer tourists. The treaty states that during daylight time during the tourist season (April 1 to October 31), there must be 2,800 cubic metres per second (99,000 cu ft/s) of water flowing over

2047-448: Is influenced by the capital market and the political and firm-specific factors. Privatization through the stock market is more likely to be the method used when there is an established capital market capable of absorbing the shares. A market with high liquidity can facilitate the privatization. If the capital markets are insufficiently developed, however, it would be difficult to find enough buyers. The shares may have to be underpriced, and

2136-590: Is more prevalent in non-privatized sectors. Furthermore, according to the World Bank extralegal and unofficial activities are more prevalent in countries that privatized less. Other research suggests that privatization in Russia resulted in a dramatic rise in the level of economic inequality and a collapse in GDP and industrial output. Russian President Boris Yeltsin 's IMF -backed rapid privatization schemes saw half

2225-514: Is not the tourism season, more water is diverted for electrical power during the whole 24 hour period. The pool of water located immediately upstream of the International Water Control Dam is named the "Chippawa – Grass Island pool". Ontario Power Generation Ontario Power Generation Inc. ( OPG ) is a Crown corporation and "government business enterprise" that is responsible for approximately half of

2314-420: Is that privatization is the sale of a state-owned enterprise or municipally owned corporation to private investors; in this case shares may be traded in the public market for the first time, or for the first time since an enterprise's previous nationalization . This type of privatization can include the demutualization of a mutual organization , cooperative , or public-private partnership in order to form

2403-512: Is the president and chief executive officer of OPG. He was appointed to this position on 1 April 2019, when the previous president and CEO, Jeffrey J. Lyash, resigned. Other current members of the board include John Herron, Selma Lussenburg, Scott McDonald, Jill Pepall, Jim Reinsch, James Sheppard, Anju Virmani, Tracy Primeau and Mary Filipelli. The financial situation at Ontario Power Generation has improved significantly since 2003. Its profits for 2005 were $ 366 million, and its credit rating

2492-593: The New York Times , in April 1923, in a translation of a German speech referring to the potential for German state railroads to be bought by American companies. In German, the word Privatisierung has been used since at least the 19th century. Ultimately, the word came to German through French from the Latin privatus . The term reprivatization , again translated directly from German ( Reprivatisierung ),

2581-524: The 2011 revolution , most of the public began to call for re-nationalization, citing allegations of the privatized firms practicing crony capitalism under the old regime. There are various reasons why a government may decide to privatize; commonly due to economic reasons. The economic factors that influence a government's decision to privatize assume this will lower government debt. Studies have shown that governments are more likely to privatise with higher public debt, typically because governments do not have

2670-561: The Bruce Nuclear site , adjacent to its present Western Waste Management Facility. The repository would provide permanent storage of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste produced from the operation of the Bruce, Pickering, and Darlington nuclear generating stations. In 2005, OPG initiated the regulatory approval process. Following a comprehensive environmental assessment (EA) process and two rounds of public hearings in front of

2759-535: The Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher when many state-run firms were sold off to the private sector. The privatization received very mixed views from the public and the parliament. Even former Conservative prime minister Harold Macmillan was critical of the policy, likening it to "selling the family silver". There were around 3 million shareholders in Britain when Thatcher took office in 1979 , but

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2848-583: The European Commission argues that privatisation in Europe had mixed effects on service quality and has achieved only minor productivity gains, driven mainly by lower labour input combined with other cost cutting strategies that led to a deterioration of employment and working conditions. Meanwhile, a different study by the commission found that the UK rail network (which was privatized from 1994 to 1997)

2937-734: The Nanticoke Generating Station , on Lake Erie in Haldimand County, Ontario, and the Lambton Generating Station were shut down, OPG did convert two other coal-fuelled power plants. Atikokan Generating Station in Atikokan , Ontario, was converted in 2012 to burning steam-treated wood pellets or "biomass" as OPG refers to it. "Biomass wood pellets are a sustainable fuel recognized as beneficial to climate change mitigation , as identified in

3026-515: The Northeast blackout of 2003 . The problem was that all but one of the reactors were tripped and allowed to poison out , preventing an early reconnection to the electricity grid . Once shut down, all nuclear reactors take several days to return to service. Another source of criticism was the extended and expensive refit to the reactor Unit 4 at the Pickering A Nuclear Station. In late 2003,

3115-614: The Revolutions of 1989 introduced non-communist governments. Freedom House's privatization index, 1998 and 2002 Freedom House 's privatization index rated transition countries from 1 (maximum progress) to 7 (no progress). The table below shows the privatization index for various Eastern European countries in 1998 and 2002: The largest public shares offering in France involved France Télécom . Egypt undertook widespread privatization under Hosni Mubarak . Following his overthrow in

3204-465: The electricity generation in the province of Ontario , Canada. It is wholly owned by the government of Ontario . Sources of electricity include nuclear , hydroelectric , wind , gas and biomass . Although Ontario has an open electricity market , the provincial government, as OPG's sole shareholder, regulates the price the company receives for its electricity to be less than the market average, in an attempt to stabilize prices. Since 1 April 2008,

3293-667: The private sector , and the women in the public sector are more likely to be unionized than those in the private sector. In Chile, women are disproportionately affected by the privatization of the pension system because factors such as "women's longer life expectancy, earlier retirement age, and lower rates of labor-force participation, lower salaries" affect their ability to accumulate funds for retirement which leads to lower pensions. Low-income women face an even greater burden; Anjela Taneja, of Oxfam India says "The privatization of public services...implies limited or no access to essential services for women living in poverty, who are often

3382-533: The $ 1.12 billion purchase of Cube Hydro, which includes 19 hydroelectric power plants in New York , Pennsylvania , Virginia , West Virginia and North Carolina . Privatize Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English ) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as

3471-626: The American and Canadian power stations. Two tunnels on the American side take water under the city of Niagara Falls, New York , and three tunnels on the Canadian side divert water under the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario . Once past these cities, the water flows into two canals and then into two large reservoirs. Behind the Canadian Sir Adam Beck Power Station is a reservoir covering 300 hectares (740 acres) and

3560-655: The Biomass Sustainability Analysis Report by the Pembina Institute ", according to OPG. The company says that this generating station is "North America's largest 100 per cent biomass-fuelled power plant". Thunder Bay Generating Station in Thunder Bay , Ontario, was converted to using "advanced" biomass in 2014. "It is a solid biomass fuel ... has higher energy density and is hydrophobic (repels water) allowing it withstand

3649-701: The Nazi Party." Great Britain privatized its steel industry in the 1950s, and the West German government embarked on large-scale privatization, including sale of the majority stake in Volkswagen to small investors in public share offerings in 1961. However, it was in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan in the United States that privatization gained worldwide momentum. Notable privatization attempts in

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3738-608: The Russian population fall into destitution in just several years as unemployment climbed to double digits by the early to mid 1990s. A 2009 study published in The Lancet medical journal has found that as many as a million working men died as a result of economic shocks associated with mass privatization in the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe during the 1990s, although a further study suggested that there were errors in their method and "correlations reported in

3827-690: The Taoist clergy that a strong ruler was virtually invisible. During the Renaissance , most of Europe was still by and large following the feudal economic model. By contrast, the Ming dynasty in China began once more to practice privatization, especially with regards to their manufacturing industries. This was a reversal of the earlier Song dynasty policies, which had themselves overturned earlier policies in favor of more rigorous state control. In Britain,

3916-406: The UK included privatization of Britoil (1982), the radioactive-chemicals company Amersham International (1982), British Telecom (1984), Sealink ferries (1984), British Petroleum (gradually privatized between 1979 and 1987), British Aerospace (1985 to 1987), British Gas (1986), Rolls-Royce (1987), Rover Group (formerly British Leyland , 1988), British Steel Corporation (1988), and

4005-612: The assumption that foreign investment would play a major role. In post- reunification East Germany, by the end of June 1992, the Treuhandanstalt had privatized 8,175 companies, with 5,950 left on hand (4,340 remaining to be sold and the remainder to be liquidated). June 1992 was also when the last East German on the board of the Treuhand left. By the end of 1994, Treuhand had sold almost everything, having only 65 firms left to privatize as of December 1994. More than 80% of

4094-445: The authors identified three methods of privatization: "privatization by sale", "mass privatization", and "mixed privatization". Their calculations showed that "mass privatization" was the most effective method. However, in economies "characterized by shortages" and maintained by the state bureaucracy, wealth was accumulated and concentrated by "gray/black market" operators. Privatizing industries by sale to these individuals did not mean

4183-536: The company's rates have been regulated by the Ontario Energy Board . In June 2019, it was announced that a new corporate campus would be built in Clarington , Ontario, that will also house Ontario Power Generation's headquarters. In February 2023, it was announced that OPG would instead purchase the former head office building of General Motors Canada in Oshawa , Ontario, for their new headquarters, planning to open by 2024. Ontario Power Generation

4272-784: The context of the privatization of services or government functions, where private entities are tasked with the implementation of government programs or the performance of government services. Gillian E. Metzger has written that: "Private entities [in the US] provide a vast array of social services for the government; administer core aspects of government programs; and perform tasks that appear quintessentially governmental, such as promulgating standards or regulating third-party activities." Metzger mentions an expansion of privatization that includes health and welfare programs, public education, and prisons. The history of privatization dates from Ancient Greece , when governments contracted out almost everything to

4361-512: The cost of bureaucracy was one of the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire . Perhaps one of the first ideological movements towards privatization came during China 's golden age of the Han dynasty . Taoism came into prominence for the first time at a state level, and it advocated the laissez-faire principle of Wu wei (無為), literally meaning "do nothing". The rulers were counseled by

4450-714: The countries suggest that a large segment of the public is dissatisfied with or have negative views of privatization in the region. In the 1990s, the governments in Eastern and Central Europe engaged in extensive privatization of state-owned enterprises in Eastern and Central Europe and Russia, with assistance from the World Bank , the U.S. Agency for International Development, the German Treuhand , and other governmental and non-governmental organization . Nippon Telegraph and Telephone 's privatization in 1987 involved

4539-454: The electricity in Ontario or 74.0 terawatt hours (TWh). Roughly 60 percent of Ontario's electricity is accounted for by three nuclear power plants: Pickering , Darlington and Bruce . No fatal accidents related to nuclear power have occurred in Ontario. Large Small Altogether there are 29 plants producing 127 MW of power. Defunct On 25 June 2019, Ontario Power announced

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4628-721: The elements while being stored outside," according to OPG. In March 2016, OPG and partners SunEdison Canadian Construction LP and Six Nations Development Corporation were selected by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to develop the Nanticoke Solar Facility , a 44 megawatt (MW) solar farm on and near the Nanticoke Generating Station site on Lake Erie. The company is proud of its achievements in reducing pollution. "Now, together with

4717-588: The existing Darlington Energy Complex. The decision was made to retrofit the empty building for economic and sustainability reasons. Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster issued a statement, saying he was "deeply disappointed" with the decision not to build in Clarington. Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter welcomed the news, saying he was "thrilled to welcome" OPG to Oshawa. OPG owns and operates generating plants that draw from nuclear, hydro-electric, combined gas, biomass, solar and some wind. In 2018, it generated about half of

4806-571: The falls, and during the night and off-tourist season there must be 1,400 cubic metres per second (49,000 cu ft/s) of water flowing over the falls. This treaty is monitored by the International Niagara Board of Control, part of the International Joint Commission , using a NOAA gauging station above the falls. This weir allows water from the upper river to be diverted into the intakes for

4895-776: The first attempt at a social welfare analysis of the British privatization program under the Conservative governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major during the 1980s and 1990s, Massimo Florio points to the absence of any productivity shock resulting strictly from ownership change. Instead, the impact on the previously nationalized companies of the UK productivity leap under the Conservatives varied in different industries. In some cases, it occurred prior to privatization, and in other cases, it occurred upon privatization or several years afterward. A 2012 study published by

4984-797: The high capital cost estimates and energy surplus in the province at the time of the announcement. In January 2016, the province of Ontario approved plans to pursue continued operation of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station to 2024. OPG will work with the Ministry of Energy, the Independent Electricity System Operator and the Ontario Energy Board to pursue continued operation of the Pickering Station to 2024. All six units would operate until 2022; two units would then shut down and four units would operate to 2024. Extending Pickering's operation will ensure

5073-484: The incoming Liberal government fired the three most senior executives at OPG on the heels of a report that the retrofit of a single reactor at the Pickering nuclear plant had come in significantly over budget and three years behind schedule. The government also accepted the resignation of all remaining board members. Management underestimated the amount of work and complexity of the Unit 4 refurbishment project and failed to do

5162-483: The largest share offering in financial history at the time. 15 of the world's 20 largest public share offerings have been privatizations of telecoms. In 1988, the perestroika policy of Mikhail Gorbachev started allowing privatization of the centrally planned economy. Large privatization of the Soviet economy occurred over the next few years as the country dissolved . Other Eastern Bloc countries followed suit after

5251-400: The middle of the 1930s. The firms belonged to a wide range of sectors: steel, mining, banking, local public utilities, shipyard, ship-lines, railways, etc. In addition to this, delivery of some public services produced by public administrations prior to the 1930s, especially social services and services related to work, was transferred to the private sector, mainly to several organizations within

5340-467: The more competitive the industry, the greater the improvement in output, profitability, and efficiency. Such efficiency gains mean a one-off increase in GDP , but through improved incentives to innovate and reduce costs also tend to raise the rate of economic growth . More recent research and literature review performed by Professor Saul Estrin and Adeline Pelletier concluded that "the literature now reflects

5429-408: The needed time to wait for a return. Another economic factor that influences this area is the resulting efficiency of SOEs once privatised. Commonly, governments aren’t able to provide the required investments required to ensure profitability for various reasons. These factors may lead to a government deciding to privatize. There are several main methods of privatization: The choice of sale method

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5518-446: The ones more in need of these services." The increase in privatization since the 1980s has been a factor in rising income and wealth inequality in the United States. Due to low levels of native capital accumulation in the former Central and Eastern Europe, the rapid privatization preferred by international institutions ( EBRD , IMF , World Bank ) and other foreign banks was a de facto call for international bidding, reflecting

5607-689: The original article are simply not robust." A subsequent body of scholarship, while still controversial, demonstrates that rapid privatization schemes associated with neoliberal economic reforms did result in poorer health outcomes in former Eastern Bloc countries during the transition to markets economies, with the World Health Organization contributing to the debate by stating "IMF economic reform programs are associated with significantly worsened tuberculosis incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates in post-communist Eastern European and former Soviet countries." Historian Walter Scheidel ,

5696-430: The other hand, however, privatisation has been largely met with a negative criticism and citizen coalitions. This neoliberal criticism highlights the ongoing conflict between varying visions of economic development. Karl Polanyi emphasizes the societal concerns of self-regulating markets through a concept known as a "double movement". In essence, whenever societies move towards increasingly unrestrained, free-market rule,

5785-611: The private sector. In the Roman Republic private individuals and companies performed the majority of services including tax collection ( tax farming ), army supplies ( military contractors ), religious sacrifices and construction. However, the Roman Empire also created state-owned enterprises —for example, much of the grain was eventually produced on estates owned by the Emperor. David Parker and David S. Saal suggest that

5874-408: The private sector. In the 1990s, privatization revenue from 18 Latin American countries totaled 6% of gross domestic product. Private investment in infrastructure from 1990 and 2001 reached $ 360.5 billion, $ 150 billion more than in the next emerging economy. While economists generally give favorable evaluations of the impact of privatization in Latin America, opinion polls and public protests across

5963-484: The privatization of common lands is referred to as enclosure (in Scotland as the Lowland Clearances and the Highland Clearances ). Significant privatizations of this nature occurred from 1760 to 1820, preceding the Industrial Revolution in that country. The first mass privatization of state property occurred in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1937: "It is a fact that the government of the National Socialist Party sold off public ownership in several state-owned firms in

6052-575: The privatized businesses were bought by foreigners (chiefly West Germans – 75%). Romania's first privatization took place on 3 August 1992. There was "very little" privatization during 1992: only 22 state-owned enterprises were privatized. The pace picked up throughout the following year, with more than 260 companies privatized. Four of the 22 enterprises privatized in 1992 were sold to foreign investors. In 1993, 265 companies were privatized, followed by 604 in 1994. Two companies were sold to foreign investors during this period, one each in 1993 and 1994. At

6141-433: The province and houses wildlife trails in the exclusion zones around its nuclear stations in Durham Region . The company's annual employee charity campaign has raised millions of dollars for charities across Ontario. In October 2008, OPG was named one of " Canada's Top 100 Employers " by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in Maclean's . Later that month, OPG was also named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers , which

6230-428: The regional water authorities (mostly in 1989). After 1979, council house tenants in the UK were given the right to buy their homes (at a heavily discounted rate). One million purchased their residences by 1986. Such efforts culminated in 1993 when British Rail was privatized under Thatcher's successor, John Major . British Rail had been formed by prior nationalization of private rail companies. The privatization

6319-486: The review committee. Peter Godsoe , Chairman of the Bank of Nova Scotia, and Jake Epp , a former federal Cabinet Minister, Chair of the Pickering A Review Panel, and interim Chairman of OPG, also sat on the committee. The experience of refurbishing Pickering A Unit 1 was significantly different with a much tighter adherence to schedule and budget. Unit 1 was returned to service in November 2005 providing 542 MW of generating capacity for Ontario's electricity system. It

6408-425: The sale of the state-owned companies. Those with political connections unfairly gained large wealth, which has discredited privatization in these regions. While media have widely reported the grand corruption that accompanied those sales, according to research released by the World Bank there has been increased operating efficiency, daily petty corruption is, or would be, larger without privatization, and that corruption

6497-504: The sales may not raise as much capital as would be justified by the fair value of the company being privatized. Many governments, therefore, elect for listings in more sophisticated markets, for example, Euronext , and the London , New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges. Governments in developing countries and transition countries more often resort to direct asset sales to a few investors, partly because those countries do not yet have

6586-411: The stock market, bidders compete to offer higher prices, generating more revenue for the state. Voucher privatization, on the other hand, could represent a genuine transfer of assets to the general population, creating a sense of participation and inclusion. A market could be created if the government permits transfer of vouchers among voucher holders. Some privatization transactions can be interpreted as

6675-585: The strong technical safety case, the Minister requested OPG provide further information. OPG has committed to provide the requested studies and additional information by the end of 2016. OPG has also begun the process of building up to four new nuclear units at the site of its Darlington Nuclear Generating Station but in October 2013, the province of Ontario declared that the Darlington new build project would not be part of Ontario's long-term energy plan, citing

6764-434: The subsequent sale of state-run firms saw the number of shareholders double by 1985. By the time of her resignation in 1990, there were more than 10 million shareholders in Britain. Privatization in Latin America was extensive in the 1980s and 1990s, as a result of a Western liberal economic policy. Companies providing public services such as water management , transportation, and telecommunications were rapidly sold off to

6853-513: The two nuclear power plants that make up the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station on Lake Huron in western Ontario, which are operated by Bruce Power under a long-term lease. OPG also operates three facilities for the interim management of nuclear waste generated by OPG's 10 nuclear reactors and Bruce Power's eight nuclear reactors. The company is proposing to construct and operate a deep geologic repository (DGR) on

6942-402: The voices of workers, community members and academics. Some reports show that the results of privatization are experienced differently between men and women for numerous reasons: when public services are privatized women are expected to take on the health and social care of dependents , women have less access to privatized goods, public sector employs a larger proportion of women than does

7031-556: The world. Results of privatization may vary depending on the privatization model employed. According to Irwin Stelzer , "it is somewhere between difficult and impossible to separate the effects of privatisation from the effects of such things as trends in the economy". According to research performed by the World Bank and William L. Megginson in the early 2000s, privatization in competitive industries with well-informed consumers, consistently improved efficiency. According to APEC ,

7120-731: Was announced by the Toronto Star . OPG regularly reports on its operational, safety and environmental record. The company publishes quarterly reports summarizing its performance in these areas. OPG purchased 9 million shares (1.5%) of former Crown corporation Hydro One , another Ontario Hydro successor company, in April 2016. OPG is the owner of four nuclear power plants . It directly operates Pickering Nuclear Generation Station in Pickering , Ontario and Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Courtice , Ontario. OPG also owns

7209-410: Was controversial, and its impact is still debated today , as doubling of passenger numbers and investment was balanced by an increase in rail subsidy . This has been reverted by the same party in Britain in the early 2020s with the state-owned Great British Railways . The United Kingdom's largest public share offerings were privatizations of British Telecom and British Gas during the 1980s under

7298-520: Was decided that Pickering Units 2 and 3 would not be restarted as the business case could not be made. In early December 2015, Ontario's Auditor General pointed out that OPG was importing wood products from Europe to burn at the Thunder Bay station "pushing the cost of the electricity it generates to 25 times higher than other biomass generators", or $ 1,600 per MWh. Subsequently, Ontario's Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle stated that OPG

7387-518: Was established in April 1999 as part of plans by the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Mike Harris to privatize the assets of Ontario Hydro and deregulate the province's electricity market. OPG was one of the five successor corporations to Ontario Hydro and assumed ownership of all generating stations. Wendy Kei is the chair of the board of directors. She was appointed as chairman on 27 June 2019. Ken Hartwick

7476-495: Was himself drawing on the Austrian-American management expert Peter Drucker 's 1969 book, The Age of Discontinuity . The word privatization may mean different things depending on the context in which it is used. It can mean moving something from the public sphere into the private sphere, but it may also be used to describe something that was always private, but heavily regulated, which becomes less regulated through

7565-609: Was most improved out of all the 27 EU nations from 1997 to 2012. The report examined a range of 14 different factors and the UK came top in four of the factors, second and third in another two and fourth in three, coming top overall. Nonetheless, the impact of the privatisation of British Rail has been the subject of much debate, with the stated benefits including improved customer service, and more investment; and stated drawbacks including higher fares, lower punctuality and increased rail subsidies. Privatizations in Russia and Latin America were accompanied by large-scale corruption during

7654-400: Was seeking a local company to produce the biomass fuel. Considering the ever-increasing cost of electricity to Ontario consumers, the hiring of CEO Jeffrey Lyash in the summer of 2015 created some criticism when it was revealed that Lyash would earn $ 775,000 per annum and that could increase to $ 1.55 million with bonuses if performance targets are met. On 10 June 2019, it was announced that

7743-518: Was the second largest air polluter in the province. The Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty came to power in 2003 with a promise to phase out coal generation by 2007. However, for various operational and demand reasons this was not possible until 2014, when the last coal was burned in OPG's stations. The company also endured significant criticism concerning the slow return to operation of some of its nuclear generating stations which had been shut down by

7832-512: Was upgraded. In July 2006, Liberal Energy Minister Dwight Duncan described OPG's turnaround as "[o]ne of the untold stories of the last two years". On the local public relations side, OPG has won many awards for its performance as a "good corporate citizen". Most recently, OPG was named for the fourth year in a row to the Corporate Knights Top 50 Best Corporate Citizens in Canada. OPG regularly sponsors community events across

7921-399: Was used frequently in the mid-1930s as The Economist reported on Nazi Germany's sale of nationalized banks back to public shareholders following the 1931 economic crisis. The word became common in the late 1970s and early 1980s as part of UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher's economic policies . She was drawing on the work of the pro-privatization Member of Parliament David Howell , who

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