Province considers more private sector work with Manitoba Hydro

The Manitoba government says it will not privatize core functions of Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro.

However, in response to a report from former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall, the government is considering using more private-public partnerships for new capital projects.

Wall was commissioned by the Progressive Conservative government to examine large cost overruns at the Crown-owned utility.

Last year, he issued a report that said the utility should divest itself of non-core assets and look at partnering with the private sector for expensive capital projects such as new dams.

The government has now released its response to the report and Finance Minister Cameron Friesen says the province is not sell off anything related to the generation, transmission and sale of energy.

But he says partnering with the private sector can make economic sense in some cases and it’s an approach that has been underused in the past.