OMERS and Enbridge sell stake in East-West Tie Line
Torys acted as counsel to OMERS Infrastructure and Enbridge Transmission Holdings in the C$261 million sale of their combined interest in the East-West Tie Limited Partnership to Hydro One Networks Inc.
On March 4, 2025, Hydro One Limited (“Hydro One”) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hydro One Networks Inc., completed the acquisition of an approximately 48% interest in the East-West Tie Limited Partnership from affiliates of OMERS Infrastructure Management Inc. (“OMERS Infrastructure”) and Enbridge Transmission Holdings Inc. (“Enbridge”).
The East-West Tie Limited Partnership owns the East-West Tie Line, a 450 km, 230 kV double-circuit transmission line, regulated by the Ontario Energy Board (“OEB”), spanning from Wawa to Thunder Bay, along the north shore of Lake Superior. It was built in partnership with the Bamkushwada Limited Partnership, a consortium of six First Nations jointly owned by Fort William First Nation, Michipicoten First Nation, Biigtigong Nishnaabeg (Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation), Pays Plat First Nation, Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg (Pic Mobert First Nation) and Red Rock Indian Band.
Under the terms of the agreement, announced December 19, 2024, Hydro One purchased its interest in the partnership for approximately C$261 million. The transaction’s completion results in a partnership with the remaining owners of the East-West Tie Line — the Bamkushwada Limited Partnership and affiliates of NextEra Energy Canada, LP who own approximately 3.5% and 48% respectively.
Further information can be found on OMERS Infrastructure’s website and prnewswire.com.
Hydro One, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution provider with approximately 1.5 million valued customers, approximately C$36.7 billion in assets as of December 31, 2024, and annual revenues in 2024 of approximately C$8.5 billion.
OMERS Infrastructure is the infrastructure investment advisor and manager of OMERS, a jointly sponsored, defined benefit pension plan, with 1,000 participating employers ranging from large cities to local agencies, and almost 640,000 active, deferred and retired members. Its members include union and non-union employees of municipalities, school boards, local boards, transit systems, electrical utilities, emergency services and children's aid societies across Ontario.
Enbridge safely connects millions of people to the energy they rely on every day, fueling quality of life through its North American natural gas, oil and renewable power networks and its growing European offshore wind portfolio.
The Torys team was led by Krista Hill and Stephen Neil, and included Tia Eisner and Emily Stauffer (corporate/M&A), Jonathan Myers (energy regulatory), Dany Assaf and Rebecca Wagner (Competition Act), Andy Gibbons and Aren Thomasian (real estate), Jerald Wortsman and Robbie Wang (tax).
Torys a également agi dans le cadre des mandats suivants en lien avec ce projet :

| Territoire | Thunder Bay to Wawa |
| Province/État | Ontario |
| Pays | Canada |
| Nature du mandat | Fusions et acquisitions |
| Client | OMERS Infrastructure and Enbridge |
| Rôle du client | Vendeur |
| Valeur | 261 000 000 $ CAD |
| Caractéristiques clés | Participation autochtone |