The Town of Essex has agreed to sell its shares of E.L.K. Energy Inc. to ENWIN Utilities, a move that could significantly impact electricity delivery in Essex, Lakeshore, and Kingsville.
Mayor Sherry Bondy said the decision was made to address ongoing frustrations with power flickers and outages while ensuring the region’s energy infrastructure is modernized for the future.
Why is this happening?
For years, E.L.K. focused on keeping rates low while paying off debt — a strategy that, according to Bondy, limited investment in infrastructure upgrades.
“We’re a very small utility, so there’s a lot of challenges in keeping up with future technology and staff resources,” Bondy said.
“Previous [E.L.K. governance] boards had a mantra of keeping rates extremely low and paying off debt. So, what happened is that led to a lack of investment in infrastructure.”
Bondy said the town considered other options but determined selling to ENWIN was the most effective way to improve service reliability.
“We could have possibly [made upgrades] over 10, 15 years,” she said.
“But we didn’t want residents to not have the service that they deserve.”
She also pointed out that Essex’s investment in E.L.K. had not generated the expected financial return.
“It’s kind of been almost a money pit where we have not received hardly any dividends,” Bondy said.
“Why are we continuing to own something when we’re not able to serve the customers the way we need to, and we’re not even getting any financial return?”
What changes can customers expect?
For now, customers will continue to receive bills under the E.L.K. Energy name.
It will take approximately a year before the transition is finalized and up to two years before ENWIN-branded trucks replace E.L.K ones in servicing the area.
“This is the beginning,” said Garry Rossi, President and CEO of ENWIN Utilities.
“We need to get a lay of the land, roll up our sleeves, and start creating plans for how we’re going to make the system more reliable and more resilient.”
ENWIN officials said staff training and system integration will be prioritized to improve service.
One of the key benefits will be ENWIN’s 24/7 control room, which will allow for quicker responses to outages.
“We’re going to even have more crews. So, depending on where the issue is, if it’s in Essex or if it’s in the Windsor area, we’re going to be able to respond with more crews, improve reliability and uptime to get those outages back on,” Rossi said.
Will this affect rates?
Bondy said in negotiating the sale, the Town of Essex and ENWIN have committed to a stabilized rate strategy, meaning rates won’t increase suddenly.
Any future changes would have to go through the Ontario Energy Board’s approval process.
“And ENWIN also has a history of reliable rates,” she said.
“So, there’ll be no sudden moves.”
What happens to E.L.K. employees?
E.L.K. currently employs 24 people, while ENWIN has more than 300.
Bondy said job protection was a key part of the negotiation process.
“That was really important to us,” she said.
“We worked hard on bargaining to see a local presence, to keep the building here, and to ensure a smooth transition for employees.”
Rossi added that maintaining a local office in Essex is essential for efficient operations.
“From our perspective, it’s very important that we maintain this facility,” he said.
“We need to be able to dispatch crews quickly. We need to be able to be efficient in the way we do our day to day, and this location will definitely help us with that.”
What about property taxes?
The Town of Essex has confirmed that the sale will not lead to an increase in property taxes.
Instead, the funds from the sale will be reinvested into municipal projects, including infrastructure improvements.
“The sale price isn’t being disclosed yet,” Bondy said.
“But we will use it wisely, invest it, and generate interest from it — much like a dividend.”
What’s next?
Over the next 12 months, the Ontario Energy Board will oversee the transition.
During this period, E.L.K. will continue operating as usual, with no immediate changes to service or office locations.
Bondy emphasized that this decision was made after extensive research and consultation.
“We hired consultants Grant Thornton to look at every possible company in Ontario that could potentially partner with us,” she said.
“ENWIN really rose above the rest in terms of what they could offer us. They have the technology that larger utilities have but also the local feel of a smaller utility.”
For those with questions about the transition, the Town of Essex has published an FAQ on its website with more details about what this means for residents and businesses.
“This is just the beginning,” Bondy said.
“We know there are a lot of questions, and we want people to understand this is a really good thing for the community.”
