Ontario Power Generation

In late December 2003, the new acting CEO of Ontario Power Generation, the provincial Crown corporation responsible for the bulk of the province’s electrical power generation, was deeply worried. Three major events had led to a decline in the company’s revenues in 2003: a massive power failure that affected large portions of Ontario and the U.S. eastern seaboard in August, the maintenance-related planned outage at the Darlington Nuclear Station and the new provincial Liberal government’s mandated future phasing out of air polluting coal-fired electricity stations. In addition, in reaction to a damning report on cost overruns at the Pickering Nuclear Station, the Liberal government had dismissed the board and CEO and ordered a comprehensive audit. The acting CEO knew that he needed to respond quickly to the crisis of confidence facing the firm.