BC Hydro leadership shake-up brings in new president, no word on CEO

BC Hydro president and CEO Jessica McDonald pauses while speaking to attendees after addressing a Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday January 21, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER -- BC Hydro confirms it has had a change in leadership, but few details have been released.

A Hydro spokeswoman says its president and chief executive officer Jessica McDonald is no longer with the company -- a decision the provincial government says would have been made by the corporation's board of directors.

Chris O'Riley, who was BC Hydro's deputy CEO, has now been appointed president in McDonald's place, but he is not filling the role of chief executive officer.

The spokeswoman wouldn't comment on who would be appointed into the CEO position, saying more information is expected to be released next week.

The change comes days after the New Democrat government announced Kenneth Peterson is the new chairman for the Crown utility, replacing Brad Bennett who was a key player in former Liberal premier Christy Clark's re-election campaign.

Before being sworn in this week, Premier John Horgan had pledged to refer BC Hydro's controversial Site C hydroelectric dam project to the B.C. Utilities Commission to determine if it is economic viable.