IT should come as no surprise that Manitobans are using more energy than ever before.
How many of us have had trouble finding an empty outlet to charge a phone, a laptop or plug in the sixth television in our home or office?
But that’s not all.
Electric vehicles are growing in popularity, Manitoba’s population expands every year and more new homes and businesses are being built.
To ensure there’s enough energy to power the province over the next decade and beyond, Manitoba Hydro developed its Integrated Resource Plan. Created over the past two years with significant public input, using the latest computer modelling systems and following utility best practices, the resulting development plan calls for Manitoba Hydro to invest in several conservation measures and new energy sources.
These include more than 800 megawatts in capacity savings, purchasing up to 600 megawatts of energy from new Indigenous majority-owned wind farms, enhancements to the utility’s existing hydroelectric plants, and — subject to regulatory approval — adding 750 megawatts of new generation from three combustion turbines in Brandon.
These turbines will help backstop the additional wind energy being purchased, and help meet the province’s energy needs during the coldest winter days and nights, drought, or other system emergencies.
Manitoba Hydro is also upgrading or replacing 41 electrical substations across the province over the next 15 years — at an estimated cost of between $600 million and $1.2 billion. It’s also renewing the utility’s critical High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) system, to ensure that the roughly 70 per cent of electricity used by Manitobans can move from generating stations in the province’s north to the south. “Our job is to make sure that Manitobans always have the energy they need, that it’s reliable, helps drive our economy and supports our businesses,” says Scott Powell, the utility’s director of corporate communications and marketing.
Exports to the U.S. and other Canadian provinces continue to be an important source of revenue for Manitoba Hydro, which helps keep rates lower than they would be otherwise. In fact, according to a recent study by the C.D. Howe Institute, Manitobans continues to have the second-lowest electricity rates in Canada, trailing only Quebec.
Manitoba Hydro is a “winter peaking” utility, so it’s critical that it plans for those periods of highest demand. That’s in the middle of winter when daylight is short, lights are on longer and more energy is required for heating.
“We’re here to provide safe and affordable electricity and natural gas so Manitobans can live their lives. It’s energy for the community, energy for business, energy for education. It’s really energy for life,” he says.
