North Shore Power Group (NSPG), the utility owned by the Town of Blind River, reports continued growth, according to its president Graeme Lowry.
Lowry gave a report on the utility’s status to council at its meeting Monday evening. The utility advises council twice annually on its operations.
“This is us bringing information directly to you,” Lowry said of the presentation to full council. Three council members are members of the utility’s board of directors.
NSPG also handles annual payments on an initial loan of $49 million loan the town received from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) seven years ago. The payments are made through Plasco Energy Group which is now coming out of bankruptcy protection with a $25 million investment from NSPG. Plasco had paid the utility some $7 million on the investment before it went in to bankruptcy.
Lowry credits founder and president and CEO Robert Bryden with leading Plasco out of bankruptcy protection. In a letter to council, Bryden assured the town that payments will continue.
“Every payment we get is a lot better than where we were. With the next payment, we’ll be up $2.5 million since they emerged from creditor protection,” Lowry said. “Their promissory note is in good standing.”
Further negotiations with CMHC will see the town, through its utility, make annual payments of about $1.115 million with the remainder of the loan – or about $23.5 million – payable in a lump sum in 2037, also known as a balloon payment.
NSPG also sets aside money annually to cover the final payment in less than 20 years.
The utility has worked on its own and in partnership to build a 200-acre solar facility in the town’s industrial park. Electricity created from the facility is sold back to Ontario Hydro through the Independent Electricity System Operator with 20-year delivery contracts signed.
The solar park has some 17,000 panels generating power for the provincial power grid and 69 homes and buildings in the town.
“We have a lot of installed solar capacity in our community,” he added.
A statement from the utility states, “The company has seen a growth in retained cash from $1,194,931 to $2,446,920. In conjunction with a steadily improving cash position, we have created a formal policy of allocating our defined surplus cash into a Balloon Reserve in order to plan for our long-term obligations, in particular those due in 2037. Net earnings of $569,934, up from $474,471 in the prior year. This included interest income of $837,328 from Plasco Conversion Technologies. Plasco remains current and in good standing on its loan from NSPG, and we were instrumental in rescuing the core assets and getting the company re-launched with management.”
“Everything at the industrial park is built and contracted,” Lowry said of the local solar facility. He said the company is also looking at technology for people who are not part of the grid to create their own power.
“We’ve now incorporated an aggressive growth phase,” he said.
Lowry said the utility is working to be a “long term profitable utility for the town.”
“We continue to make all the profits we can and save up for the 2037 balloon payment,” he explained.