New appointees named to Manitoba Hydro board

WINNIPEG - - On a day the Selinger government named a new Manitoba Hydro chairman and six new board members to the provinceÂ’s biggest Crown corporation, a Minnesota utility launched the process of building a huge transmission line from Winnipeg to deliver power to their customers and beyond.

The proposal by Minnesota Power for the 500 kilovolt line — more than double the load first planned — will extend to Duluth and connect to a line to Wisconsin by 2020.

"It means weÂ’ll have increased export capability into the United States," Manitoba Hydro president and CEO Bob Brennan said Thursday.

"TheyÂ’re looking at an in-service date of 2020. That way we have another option for the power coming out of Keeyask."

The province says the deal is worth $1 billion to the province, with the construction of the 695 megawatt, $5.6-billion Keeyask generating station. The Minnesota state regulator approved the power purchase agreement last month.

Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service Corp. has also signed deals with Manitoba Hydro to import hydroelectric power from new dams.

A new law in Wisconsin recognizes large hydroelectric dams, including new dams in ManitobaÂ’s north, as a renewable energy source to help meet the stateÂ’s green-energy mandate. It says by 2015, 10 per cent of all power sold by state utilities must come from a renewable source.

Bill Fraser has been appointed the new board chair of Manitoba Hydro and will join six new Manitobans on the board, Innovation, Energy and Mines Minister Dave Chomiak announced Thursday.

"Bill Fraser brings a wealth management experience to the table for his many years of public service," Chomiak said.

Fraser has served on the board of Manitoba Hydro since 2006.

The six new board members are David Crate, chief of the Fisher River Cree Nation Tina Keeper, actress and former Liberal Churchill MP Eugene Kostyra, former Manitoba finance minister Dudley Thompson, principal architect of Prairie Architects Larry Vickar, president of Vickar Community Chevrolet and head of Vickar Automotive Group and Frank Whitehead, NDP MLA for The Pas.

They replace four outgoing board members of Manitoba Hydro.

Chomiak also noted that Scott Thomson, the former chief financial officer for FortisBC will start as the new CEO of Manitoba Hydro later this month.

Related News

ESCC logo

The Power Sector’s Most Crucial COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies

NEW YORK - The latest version of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council’s (ESCC’s) resource guide to assess and mitigate COVID-19 suggests the U.S. power sector continues to grapple with key concerns involving control center continuity, power plant continuity, access to restricted and quarantined areas, mutual assistance, and supply chain challenges.

In its fifth and sixth versions of the “ESCC Resource Guide—Assessing and Mitigating the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19),” released on April 16 and April 20, respectively, the ESCC expanded its guidance as it relates to social distancing and sequestration within tight power sector environments like control centers, crucial mitigation strategies that are…

READ MORE
nuclear

First Nuclear Reactors Built in 30 Years Take Shape at Georgia Power Plant

READ MORE

niagara falls adam beck station

Niagara Falls Powerhouse Gets a Billion-Dollar Upgrade for the 21st Century

READ MORE

bc ferries hybrid ship

BC Ferries celebrates addition of hybrid ships

READ MORE

Are Net-Zero Energy Buildings Really Coming Soon to Mass?

READ MORE