Kinew backing away from goal of weaning Manitoba Hydro off fossil fuels by 2035

Wab Kinew is suggesting a previous commitment to ensure Manitoba Hydro is fully green by 2035 may not be attainable after all.

Shortly after being elected in October 2023, the NDP premier instructed his cabinet to wean the Crown corporation off its last fossil fuel-burning electricity plant, but on Wednesday he stressed the need to look at the long-term picture in part because of the trade squabble with the United States.

"We have to look at the American situation, and things that we might have thought of in the past a certain way to balance between renewables and carbon-based fuel," Kinew said in Brandon Wednesday.

"I think given what we're seeing with Trump, we have to be able to put the future power needs of our province as the first priority in making sure we have everything that we need by way of electricity to build Manitoba up for the future." 

The vast majority of Manitoba Hydro's energy production comes from hydroelectric power and other low-carbon sources. A natural gas-fuelled station in Brandon is responsible for only a small percentage of energy production.

The province published a new energy policy last September in response to Manitoba needing to increase its electrical generating capacity. This came after former Manitoba Hydro CEO Jay Grewal said early in 2024 that energy shortages for all users are possible within five years.

In February, the Crown corporation made a $1.36-billion proposal for a new fuel-burning station capable of generating 500 megawatts of electricity on demand, in order to thwart a potential power shortage.

No decision on the fuel source for the two 250-megawatt fuel-combustion turbines that will generate the increased power was made at the time, but Kinew acknowledged Wednesday that it's probably going to require the use of fossil fuels.

"It's a thermal generating station at this point," he said of the proposed station. 

"Is it going to be hydrogen? Is it going to be natural gas? Is it going to be some sort of miracle fuel? Nobody knows at this point.... The hydrogen opportunity is really exciting potentially for Manitoba but that industry is not there yet. So then we look at natural gas and we look at the opportunities that we have in front of us."

Manitoba Hydro's rates are frozen for this year, but the Crown corporation has applied for a series of three annual electricity rate hikes of 3.5 per cent, beginning in 2026.