EPCOR and its Shareholder have been nationally recognized for the quality of the corporation’s governance. As part of a continuing commitment to excellence in corporate governance, EPCOR complies with the applicable rules and guidelines for the disclosure of corporate governance practices established under National Instrument 58-101.
Corporate Governance Structure
Governance Features
- The Board is appointed by its sole common Shareholder, the City of Edmonton.
- The Board operates independently of the Shareholder with full authority to make strategic business decisions. There are no employees or elected representatives of the City on the Board.
- The Board is led by an independent Chairman; Directors are respected business leaders from across Canada.
- Operating under a clear Charter of Expectations, the Board approves the goals of the business – and correlating objectives and policies – and, evaluates management’s performance.
- The selection, assessment and evaluation process for Directors seeks to match individual skills with EPCOR’s needs. An independent consultant and skills matrix are employed.
- Innovations in oversight and risk management include establishing a special Board committee to oversee development of EPCOR’s largest capital project.
Shareholder Return
EPCOR’s common dividend is set by policy. The policy saw the dividend grow by $10 million annually between 2001 and 2004 until it reached 60% of earnings available to common shares of EPCOR in the applicable year. The dividend continues to grow at a rate equal to inflation.
In 2007 the dividend, franchise fee and property taxes EPCOR paid to the City of Edmonton reached $177 million, or more than 13% of the City’s operating revenues.
Corporate Governance Practices
Those interested in additional information should consult EPCOR’s Annual Information Form (AIF), which is also available on SEDAR.
The following pages provide highlights of corporate governance practices that we believe would be of interest to a wide range of readers: