Manitoba’s Premier, Wab Kinew, has asserted that a proposed one-year freeze on electricity rates for 2025 is feasible, even amidst a projected financial shortfall for the province’s Crown-owned utility, Manitoba Hydro. This initiative, promoted by Kinew’s NDP government during the last election as a means to alleviate the surging cost of living, is now under scrutiny. The Consumers Coalition, comprising three non-profit organizations, including the Manitoba branch of the Consumers Association of Canada, has raised concerns that such a freeze could result in higher rate increases in subsequent years.
Manitoba Hydro, which ended the last fiscal year with a $157 million deficit, is again forecasted to incur a loss after initially anticipating a surplus this year. Despite the utility’s financial challenges, Kinew is optimistic that the freeze is a prudent measure and anticipates the Public Utilities Board, the regulator responsible for final decisions on rates, will approve it. Kinew noted that Manitoba Hydro itself proposed the freeze, which reinforces the government’s confidence in its financial viability.
Chris Klassen, a legal representative from the Public Interest Law Centre of Legal Aid Manitoba, has argued for a more sustainable financial strategy, stating that keeping rates artificially low today could necessitate significant hikes in the future. The utility has seen its debt triple over two decades due to cost overruns on major projects, a burden considered heavier than that of peers in other provinces by credit rating agencies.
Peter Chura, a spokesperson for Manitoba Hydro, mentioned that although the utility is not seeking a rate increase for 2025, its general rate applications typically cover multiple years, and their submission to the board is still being prepared. The final decisions on rates will ultimately rest with the Public Utilities Board.
