The Ontario government will cover the Hydro One CEO compensation of $ 1.5 million

Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford has decided to reimburse the entire Hydro One's next director's remuneration to $ 1.5 million, state sources told The Globe and Mail.

The $ 1.5 million "hard cap" $ 1.5 million plan for the entire reimbursement to the next Executive Director of Hydro One was made at the Planning and Priorities Committee this week, at a meeting with Mr. Ford and the top members of his cabinet, sources said. The details of the hard cap were not completed, but they could include wages, as well as the options and benefits of the shares. However, sources can not say whether the ceiling included growth from stock options. It is also unclear what kind of compensation would trigger if a person left.

The Globe approved the anonymity because the matters were confidential.

Ford and its cabinet ministers estimated $ 1.5 million as a competitive salary, but according to the Ford campaign, it promises to reduce consumption in the field of utility and lower hydroelectric power plants, a senior government source said.

Former CEO Mayo Schmidt has become a driving force for concern over rising electricity prices during the Spring Election Campaign. Mr Ford, after compensation, described the executive director as "six million dollars" and promised to be elected if elected. In July, Mr. Schmidt retired and the Benefit Committee suddenly resigned when he reached an agreement with the new Tory government. Mr Ford said he had a good promise, but Mr Schmidt qualified for incentives and share options worth at least $ 9 million in retirement.

The chairman of the management board of Hydro One was informed about government plans for the ceiling, and on Friday the board is expected to meet, sources from the company said. A senior government source said that the cabinet does not want to return to the big enforcement bundle and would use its legislative power to block it.

The Globe and Mail reported last month that the Ford government is responsible for the independent directors of Hydro One, who will be next director of the company. Government and industrial sources told The Globe that Ford has its own Hydro One runners, including current General Manager of Toronto Hydro Anthony Haines.

The province owns a 47% stake in Hydro One after it was partially privatized by the former liberal government. The committee for 10 persons has six independent directors, the rest being appointed by the government.

A senior government source told The Globe that the province fully respects the committee's ability to choose its successor to the CEO, but it must be within the limits of the remuneration set by the cabinet. A senior source said that the committee also expressed concern about the compensation that the board members proposed for themselves.

Mr Ford has promised a reduction of hydroelectric power plants by a further 12 percent. The Torah also adopted omnibus legislation, which partly gives the state authority the approval of the Hydro One executive compensation. The draft law requires the Hydro One Management Board to justify a new compensation framework for the Executive Director and the Board of Directors in consultation with the province and the five largest shareholders.

Progressive Conservatives have already adopted their legislation called the Liability Account for the Hydro Network, which gives the Prime Minister a veto over the executive payment. The new law also requires the company to disclose what it intends to pay to executives, which the new commission did not do.

Hydro One Chair Tom Woods recently told the state regulator in Washington that he helped to pay the next CEO from 2 million to 4 million dollars a year. At that time, a retired investment banker said that the Ontario government did not approve the management's compensation plan.

With reports by Andrew Willis and The Canadian Press