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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Territorial government's decision to study a NWT Power Corp. and ATCO merger proposal behind closed doors is wrong, and the process should be made more transparent to the public, says NTPC's former director of corporate development.

Bill Braden: "Selling the public asset might be inevitable."

"The Power Corporation is one of the finest assets that the people of the NWT have," said Bill Braden. "The government should absolutely release the criteria for its review."

The former Great Slave MLA served five years with the Crown Corporation. He said he's watching the issue carefully and so far has been disappointed by the government's handling of the proposal since it was announced by the government on Jan. 29.

"It's something that the government as a shareholder manages and has stewardship of, but on behalf of the NWT, so I really think (when) something as important as a merger or a take-over is being contemplated the people should have a very open view of the process," he said.

Premier Floyd Roland, who is also the minister responsible for the Power Corp., has been tight-lipped about specific details of the proposal. He's charged a working group of senior government employees, led by cabinet secretary Dave Ramsden, to review the case. But Braden questions whether the group has the expertise for the job.

"From what I can assume they are just bringing bureaucrats into this. It's a very complex and very intricate and specialized type of evaluation, valuing utilities, especially monopoly utilities."

Currently ATCO Group provides power to about 10,000 customers in Yellowknife and outlying communities through its subsidiary Northland Utilities. The Calgary-based company also supplies electricity to thousands of customers in Yukon and possesses $8.5 billion in assets worldwide.

Braden thinks the government might be liable to jump at any offer, especially given the intense public scrutiny the Power Corp. has been under over high electricity bills and service reliability.

That, he said is something ATCO is probably well aware of.

"Are they looking at that as an opportunity to go to the government and say 'hey guys, you're having some troubles here, maybe we can help you out if we come into the ownership or some other management situation?'"

Roland said it's too early to speak about possible merger outcomes, including whether the merger might result in Power Corp layoffs.

Barb Wyness, Union of Northern Workers public relations and research officer, said the organization is also following the review process closely. Wyness said she's disappointed not only about how secretive the government is being about the process, but also regarding the lack of consultation involved.

"The government plays these things close to their chest," she said. "It would be great if they were a lot more transparent with a lot of the things they're doing. It would be nice if they would consult, and they don't seem to do that either."

She said that the Union would fight tooth and nail to prevent the Power Corp. from being privatized.

But Braden said selling the public asset might be inevitable, adding if that's the case the process should be done openly and the Power Corp.'s board of directors should play a key role.

"What they have to do is structure that organization and give that responsibility to the current board of directors and say 'get this place set up so we can maximize the value,' and then put it out to the highest bidder, instead of looking at the first guy to come to the door and say 'hey let's make a deal,'" he said.

"This is just good business. It's one of the best assets that the government has."