Hydro One
Hydro One Networks Inc., a subsidiary of Hydro One Inc., owns and operates the largest electricity transmission and distribution system in Ontario with 1.2 million customers.
Download as PDFThe Situation
In order to be successful under the new market conditions, Hydro One had to streamline
its business. It had to be leaner and more cost effective. To be prepared for
a competitive environment, management chose to focus on building Hydro One’s core
wires business. Non-core, yet essential functions were taking up valuable time
and resources and Hydro One’s management understood that these functions could
be more efficiently managed by an experienced third party.
The sheer scale of deregulation activity in the sector globally was presenting alternative and proven approaches to managing non-core components of the utility business. Examples from around the world, and in Ontario, provided Hydro One with successful examples of solutions and best practices adopted by players facing similar challenges.
Management at Hydro One had been following one particular example very closely. The approach in that instance included a unique, innovative solution, one that had been watched with much interest throughout the global energy and utility community. The solution, having found root some 18 months earlier had Capgemini as the partner, delivering IT services through existing infrastructure and technology.
Capgemini had been providing consulting services to Hydro One for a number of years. This long-standing relationship provided evidence of Capgemini’s leadership role in the Canadian energy and utility industry and gave Hydro One confidence in its partner’s ability to deliver results on time and within budget.
Following a competitive bid tender, Hydro One awarded a landmark $ 1 billion CDN contract to Capgemini to manage and operate technology-enabled services to Hydro One over 10 years.
