Pulling the plug: Manitoba government will no longer set electricity rates

Manitoba is pulling the plug on setting electricity rates behind closed doors.

Premier Kelvin Goertzen said the government would let Manitobans have their say on Manitoba Hydro rates through a public hearing, rather than leaving the decision to itself, he announced Thursday. 

Last year, the Progressive Conservative government decided unilaterally to raise electricity rates by 2.9 per cent, bypassing the usual practice of Hydro asking for a rate increase and then the Public Utilities Board having the final say.

The last rate increase, which took effect in December 2020, was tucked into that year's Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act.

Goertzen said Hydro would have to put forward its next rate request through the PUB.

He said the Crown corporation would come forward afterwards with proposed rate adjustments for the next three years, but the PUB is not required to set multiple years of electricity prices at once. 

A jolt for public engagement

"I think it's the desire of caucus and cabinet to see both the process happen through the PUB, and to have some rate certainty for Manitobans going forward," Goertzen said.

The province has been eyeing the setting of electricity rates under multi-year intervals.

In early 2020, the province first introduced legislation that would temporarily bypass the Public Utilities Board in favour of government regulation. By 2024, the PUB would return to approving electricity rates but for multi-year intervals rather than annually.

The government described it as a cost-saving mechanism, since annual hearings by the PUB cost roughly $10 million a year.

However, critics have decried the move for dismissing public engagement in favour of government wishes.

The legislation was re-introduced last October and was one of the bills the NDP chose to delay in spring 2021.

Last month, Goertzen announced the government would yank the five bills the NDP held back in order to give the party's new leader, selected on Oct. 30, a "clean slate" to make their own decisions. Brian Pallister stepped down as premier two weeks ago and Goertzen is premier in the interim.

The Official Opposition celebrated the government's decision to leave the setting of electricity rates to a third-party watchdog.

Manitobans shouldn't overpay: NDP

"Manitobans deserve to have confidence that they're not being asked to overpay for electricity, and that's why today's announcement by the PC government that they'll no longer be ramming through a Hydro rate increase is great news for a lot of Manitobans," NDP Hydro critic Adrien Sala said.

Last month, the Public Utilities Board ordered a public review of Manitoba Hydro's financial state to determine whether its rates are reasonable and fair to customers. This was done after the PUB received a request from the Consumers Coalition.

The coalition argued Hydro's financial circumstances have changed significantly since the last full public hearing three years ago. They pointed out that since 2018, the utility has brought into service both the Manitoba-Minnesota transmission line and the Bipole III transmission line, the first unit of the Keeyask generating station, and confirmed a 30-year export sale with SaskPower.