The Auditor General of Québec issues the conclusions of her audit concerning the asset recovery of the equipment of the Gentilly-2 nuclear generating station - Press Release no. 7

QUÉBEC, May 27, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, Ms. Guylaine Leclerc makes public the report entitled Value-for-Money Audit (Spring 2015). In Chapter 7, she makes known the results from her work at Hydro-Québec. This audit results from a motion passed by the National Assembly in December 2014.

The situation related to the asset recovery of the equipment acquired under the refurbishment project was exceptional, and Hydro-Québec had to act prudently and transparently in order to adequately manage the risks associated with public perception, among others. This was particularly attributed to the difficulty of selling the turbine's new equipment as is, when it was custom designed, and the probability of disposing of it on the metal recycling market for an estimated value of $75,000, while it was acquired at a cost of $79 million.

Hydro-Québec has not specified the criteria selected to support the decision to stop looking for potential buyers. It has not fully implemented the recommendations addressed to it by a firm of independent experts during a review of its sale process for the turbine's new equipment.

It is difficult to assess whether the decision to not proceed as provided in the sale process was appropriate considering the lack of accompanying documentation. Hydro-Québec did not consider it appropriate to issue a formal call for tenders, considering a lack of interest from buyers other than the equipment manufacturer.

Hydro-Québec issued a restricted call for tenders to sell the equipment on the metal recycling market based on a weak assessment of the market value of the assets. In addition, the buyers were selected on a discretionary basis without a review, by the appropriate officials, of the relevance of and compliance with the criteria established. Finally, the proposals received electronically were opened for classification purposes before the date and time set for opening the tenders.

Hydro-Québec did not perform a follow-up with sufficient rigour of compliance with certain contract clauses. Namely, the follow-up was deficient with regard to the clauses related to the mandatory destruction of certain pieces and the use of subcontractors by the successful tenderer.

The Highlights are available at www.vgq.qc.ca. The full report is only available in French.

Source:

Lucie Roy, Director Cabinet, communications et affaires stratégiques Auditor General of Québec Tel.: [phone]

SOURCE Vérificateur Général du Québec

Lucie Roy, Director, Cabinet, communications et affaires stratégiques, Auditor General of Québec, Tel.: [phone]