Hydro One has made history as the first utility in Canada to launch a Sustainable Financing Framework emphasizing its commitment to building a more sustainable and equitable future for the communities it serves. By issuing sustainable financing instruments such as sustainable bonds, the company and its subsidiaries can allocate the net proceeds to invest in eligible green and social project categories, including clean energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, and socioeconomic advancement of Indigenous peoples, and access to essential services such as the electrical grid and the enablement of high-speed broadband internet. By investing in eligible green and social project categories, Hydro One aims to support the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals while also enabling a greener Ontario.
With the majority of Ontario’s electricity mix already composed of carbon-free sources, Hydro One will use sustainable and green issuance as an important enabler to continue the decarbonization of the grid. The company views much of its capital expenditure projects as eligible under the Framework, which aligns with market taxonomies and has received a positive second-party opinion from Sustainalytics, a global leader in providing environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and analysis.
Hydro One’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond its environmental goals of achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, and a 30 percent reduction by 2030, but also includes social initiatives such as supporting Indigenous reconciliation. Hydro One’s equity partnership model, another first in Canada, offers First Nations a 50 percent equity stake in all future large-scale capital transmission line projects, with agreements in northwestern Ontario already confirmed with nine communities for the Waasigan Transmission Line a new double-circuit 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line between Lakehead Transmission Station (TS) in the Municipality of Shuniah and Mackenzie TS in the Town of Atikokan, and a new single-circuit 230 kV transmission line between Mackenzie TS and Dryden TS in the City of Dryden.
Click here to read more about Hydro One’s Sustainable Financing Framework, an opportunity for the local hydro utility to invest in eligible green and social project categories that aims to support the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals while also enabling a greener Ontario, in the summer issue of The Distributor.