Manitoba hydro rate increases could be capped, hearings reduced under new bill
Posted March 22, 2022 5:09 pm.
The Manitoba government is planning to cap annual rate increases for electricity and reduce the number of public regulatory hearings.
A bill before the legislature would set a maximum annual increase of five per cent or the rate of inflation, whichever was lower.
The bill would also let the provincial regulator, the Public Utilities Board, set rates for three years at a time instead of holding hearings every year.
Finance Minister Cameron Friesen says both measures would keep costs down for customers.
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The Opposition New Democrats say they are worried the bill, if passed, would partially privatize Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro because it would open up retail supply of power to people other than the utility.
Friesen says the measure is aimed at allowing people with solar or wind power to sell electricity back into the grid.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2022.
