Hydro Ottawa is selling its broadband network and wireless Internet business.

The local utility said it was putting Telecom Ottawa, which serves about 95 per cent of government offices, educational institutions, hospitals and nearly 200 businesses in the metro Ottawa area, on the chopping block.

Hydro Ottawa's board of directors recently announced it would be providing smaller-than-expected dividend payments, and will see lower profits over the next few years. The sale of the higher-risk Telecom Ottawa company would help Hydro Ottawa refocus its business on generating and distributing power.

"The sale is really about taking a look at where we want to position ourselves as a company," Hydro Ottawa CEO Rosemarie Leclair told the OBJ. "What we want to get back to is really our core strength, which is the energy distribution sector and energy generation. There's a lot less risk there than in the telecom sector, and it's much more in line with the core vision of the company and what the shareholders in the city want to see: a stable, long-term reliable return on investment."

Mayor Larry O'Brien recently urged the city to completely sell off Hydro Ottawa, a move opposed by Ms. Leclair, who has called for an examination of other solutions, including Hydro Ottawa with parts of the provincially owned Hydro One in order to absorb City of Ottawa residents not captured by the city-owned utility.

The telecom business owes its creditors $32 million, which will be paid off through some of the proceeds of its sale.

Hydro Ottawa will be working with Genuity Capital Markets to facilitate the sale.

For more information and for more comments from Ms. Leclair, see page 7 of Monday's OBJ.

For a story about the three possible roads Hydro Ottawa can take, click How can Ottawa best maximize value of its utility? to read a story by OBJ reporter Roman Zakaluzny.