BC Hydro claims the controversial smart meter program is tracking below the $930 million budget, despite financial statements showing the three biggest suppliers were paid an additional $40 million.
BC Hydro’s recently released Financial Information Act Return shows OpenWay smart meter supplier Itron Canada Inc. received $148,096,714 for the year-ended March 31, 2013. Its contract to provide the two million energy measurement devices was announced at $270 million, but Spokane, Washington-headquartered Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) has billed $288,234,327 over the last two fiscal years.
The contract for installer Corix Utilities Inc. was announced as being for $73 million and project manager Capgemini (PA:CAP) for $65 million, but their two-year totals are $81,733,874 and $77,794,864 respectively.
“The reason for the increase is primarily due to the fact we extended the contracts to allow us more time to work with customers who had requested their meter be put on hold,” said BC Hydro spokesman Greg Alexis.
Alexis said “some of these companies” also received competitively sourced contracts related to meter data management and the MyHydro portal, but he did not provide details.
BC Hydro went beyond the 2012 completion deadline when thousands of customers refused installation based on health and privacy fears. Alexis said 1.83 million meters have been installed.
The 60,000 holdouts are unchanged since July when BC Hydro bowed to pressure and announced an opt-out program. BC Hydro wants to charge $35 a month beginning in December to those who keep an analog meter. Customers with smart meters who want the wireless transmitter turned off are expected to pay a $100 onetime fee plus $20 a month for manual reading.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto Alcan (NYSE:RIO) was the biggest overall BC Hydro contractor at $195,362,104, down from $208,325,086 a year earlier. BC Hydro buys power from Rio Tinto Alcan’s Kemano Power Project under an agreement that runs through 2034.
Accenture Business Services of B.C., BC Hydro’s outsourced back-office contractor since 2003, billed $127,080,723. Its parent, Accenture Inc. (NYSE:ACN) was paid $1,130,082.
SNC Lavalin has a myriad of contracts with BC Hydro, including a five-year facilities management outsourcing agreement that began in 2011. It was paid $37,114,287, while SNC Lavalin Operations billed $10,152,200.
BC Hydro reported spending $4,230,463,855 overall on suppliers for the year-ended March 31, 2013, up from $3,812,697,903 for the same period a year earlier. The $400 million increase is due to increased activity on capital projects, such as the Northwest Transmission Line and Interior to Lower Mainland Transmission projects.
Total remuneration for 12 board members was $405,375, including a $31,000 retainer and $20,625 in board and committee payments to chairman Stephen Bellringer. Bellringer listed $828 in expenses, a fraction of predecessor Dan Doyle’s $20,106. Doyle was paid $48,000 before he left Hydro to become Premier Christy Clark’s chief of staff in September 2012.
