Next Monday (June 20) is the NOTL Hydro Annual General Meeting (AGM). Technically, this is the Niagara-on-the-Lake Energy Inc. (NOTL Energy) AGM but as NOTL Energy is just a holding company most of the discussion and analysis will be about NOTL Hydro. The AGM will start at 4:00 pm and is open to the public. It can be attended virtually at: https://www.notl.com/council-government/mayor-council/meetings-agendas-minutes. Follow the directions and click on the link provided.
The AGM is many things. Technically, it is a legal requirement and the opportunity for the shareholders to have their say in the future direction of the business. As NOTL Energy only has one shareholder this is largely irrelevant in this case. The shareholder can make their position known at any time. In fact, the AGM could be legally waived and done simply as a signed document. This is not done for NOTL Energy due to the other benefits of having the meeting.
The AGM is the time when a few key decisions are made. These include the approval of the Board of Directors for the next year, the approval of the previous year’s financial statements and the approval of the auditors for the next year. These are all done by way of resolutions during the meeting.
The NOTL Energy AGM is the time, once a year, for Council to be updated on the activities within NOTL Energy. The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is the shareholder so the Councilors are the elected representatives of the shareholder. NOTL Hydro is managed independent of the Town administration so Council does not have visibility into the regular operations. This is the opportunity to provide an update. Councilors are always welcome to visit or to ask questions during the year, and some do, but this is the opportunity for all of Council to be updated.
The AGM is also a Council meeting. As all the Councilors are together that is a municipal legal requirement.
Finally, the AGM is an opportunity for Councilors to turn their mind to this important asset of the Town and to ask any questions. In the end, this is probably the biggest benefit of the meeting and the reason it is kept open to the public. Due to the format, it is not possible for the public to ask questions directly. If you do have questions, they can always be provided to one of the Councilors or to NOTL Hydro directly at billing@notlhdyro.com. However, you really do not need to wait for an AGM to ask us a question. E-mail us any time at billing@notlhydro.com and I promise you will get a prompt answer.
For those that are unable to attend, the presentation made at the AGM will be made available on our website. https://www.notlhydro.com/regulatory/financial-statements/