The Town of Tillsonburg has approved what’s being called a “strategic collaboration” between Tillsonburg Hydro Incorporated (THI) and ERTH Power Corporation (EPC).
Apr 27, 2026 •
The Town of Tillsonburg has given the green light to what’s being termed a “strategic collaboration” involving Tillsonburg Hydro Incorporated and ERTH Power Corporation.
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Council members made this decision after a thorough review and engagement with the community. The partnership will allow the town to acquire shares in ERTH Corp., a municipal holding company that owns ERTH Power Corp. along with other non-regulated entities serving utility and municipal sectors. As a result, the town will become the second-largest shareholder among the company’s ten shareholders as Tillsonburg Hydro integrates under the ERTH Power brand.
This move is expected to help improve existing hydro infrastructure while modernizing systems to boost reliability, enable automation, and enhance cybersecurity, according to officials.
“Addressing these challenges as a small standalone utility was projected to require at least $29 million in capital investment,” the release said. “With only 8,600 customers to absorb that cost, the fixed distribution portion of monthly utility bills could more than double, resulting in financial hardship for residents and businesses alike.”
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In her statement, Mayor Deb Gilvesy mentioned that while public feedback during consultations was “overwhelmingly positive,” there were still ongoing concerns about response times. ERTH has assured operational practices are in place to address these worries, including allowing employees to take service vehicles home during off-duty hours for quicker response when needed.
“Council and the (Tillsonburg Hydro) board of directors looked closely at long-term financial sustainability for rate payers and recognized the need for our hydro system to support future industrial growth and job creation,” Gilvesy said. ”The reality is that demand for additional capacity has been building for over a decade without any clear path forward.
“By teaming up with a like-minded utility, the Town of Tillsonburg is boosting system stability, resilience, and positioning itself for a reliable and thriving future.”
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This collaboration will benefit customers by distributing administrative costs across a larger base of users which helps guard against significant rate increases.
“A larger locally owned utility will have access to more skilled professionals leading to better infrastructure upgrades efficient emergency responses and chances for employee development,” added their release.
The transaction still needs approval from the Ontario Energy Board which applies a “no-harm” test ensuring customers won’t be worse off while receiving clear benefits from this merger. For further information on this merger visit tillsonburg. ca/strongertogether or erthpower. com/strongertogether.
“We’re proud to welcome Tillsonburg as a shareholder and continue building on our already strong working relationship,” stated Chris White president & CEO of ERTH Corp. “By combining our utilities we can improve service strengthen reliability & provide necessary scale for future investments all while keeping rates stable.”
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