The Corix Group, a privately held utility and utility services company, has closed a deal to buy Cleveland Thermal, the city's downtown district heating and cooling company.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Major improvements are coming to Cleveland Thermal, including the demolition of the coal-fired steam plant in the Flats just blocks from Public Square.
The Corix Group, a privately held company owned by the BC Investment Management Corporation, said Thursday that it had "finalized" an agreement with Cleveland Thermal to buy the company and expected to close the deal by Sept. 30. Terms were not disclosed.
Cleveland City Council approved the sale in July and authorized the transfer of Cleveland Thermal's 25-year franchise to Corix after hearing that the sale would assist the company with its transition from coal to natural gas.
"We have the capital and the backing to be able to lead that (transition to gas) and to make the investments as required to grow the utility both in terms of the energy supply as well as growth of the system in future areas," Morrigan McGregor, general manager of Corix Utilities Ontario, told council.
Corix Thursday said the old Canal Road coal-fired plant will be shut down by Jan. 31, 2017. New gas-fired boilers are now being built at the company's E. 18th and Lakeside plant.
Corix operates about 1,000 utilities in Canada and the United States and has been eager to move into Ohio, McGregor told members of city council's utilities committee earlier in the day.
"We look at waste water, water and energy infrastructure at the community level. We do neighborhoods, university campuses, military installations, residential development and resort areas. Our focus is to create solutions to infrastructure problems that are tailored to the specific community," she said.
"Our energy systems range from more conventional technology, such as gas-fired, to sustainable alternatives. So we have geo (geothermal) systems, biomass systems, and a number of district systems," she said, adding that about half of the systems use renewable energy or technology."
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio must also approve the purchase because Cleveland Thermal's operating companies are public utilities. Corix notified the PUCO of the pending sale Aug. 18 and asked for a decision by Sept. 23.