Privatization of Centra Gas not in the cards: minister

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This article was published 04/10/2022 (1440 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Progressive Conservative government says it will soon respond to the 51 recommendations of the Wall report on Manitoba Hydro, but that privatizing its Centra Gas arm is not on the table.

“There are no plans to privatize Hydro,” Finance Minister Cameron Friesen said when asked if his government would consider one of the recommendations of the economic review of Bipole III and Keeyask by former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall, a Conservative.

The report commissioned by the PCs under then-premier Brian Pallister found that construction of the two projects ran more that $3.7 billion over the initial budget. It made 51 recommendations, including that Manitoba Hydro remain a publicly owned utility but that it stick to its core business of supplying Manitobans with reliable and affordable power.

In question period Tuesday, NDP hydro critic Adrien Sala asked the government if it planned to implement all 51 recommendations in the report, including that Manitoba Hydro divest itself of non-core assets such as Centra Gas.

In a scrum with reporters after question period, Friesen was emphatic that won’t happen.

“There are no plans to privatize Hydro. There are plans to strengthen Hydro,” he said.

The $2.5-million economic review by the right-leaning former premier offered valuable advice that the PC government will consider, he said.

“This is a good report Manitobans need to prevent a major utility in the future from getting into trouble, as the NDP allowed it to do,” said Friesen, The minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro.

The runaway costs of building Bipole III and Keeyask generating station have left Manitoba Hydro in a $24-billion hole, he added.

“We will consider the advice, we will publicly respond to indicate what are our priorities,” Friesen said. “Let’s take off the table right now any notion that this is a lead-up to privatization. It’s completely false, completely without basis. Our plan is to stabilize Hydro.”

Another source of advice to the provincial government is the former chairman of the Manitoba Hydro board who resigned over his differences with Pallister.

Now, Sandy Riley is serving as an unpaid consultant to Friesen.

He chaired the Tory-appointed board of directors that resigned en masse in 2018, saying it had not been able to meet with Pallister for more than a year to “resolve a number of critical issues.”

Premier Heather Stefanson confirmed during a committee meeting Monday that Riley is providing his expertise and advice to her minister during troubled times of high inflation and Manitoba Hydro’s “massive” debt.

The business executive, who has governance experience, began the role of adviser to the minister eight or nine months ago and has signed a confidentiality agreement, Friesen said.

“He advises on a range of issues and he’s well qualified to do so,” Friesen told reporters.

“The challenges facing Manitoba Hydro are numerous.”

They include dealing with $24 billion in accumulated deficit, the development of an integrated resource plan to help the utility set rates and stabilize its finances, negotiations with U.S. customers for contracts that are up for renewal and Hydro’s role in the transition to electrification, Friesen said.

“He’ll provide advice that we can choose to take or not.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca