Government to make Hydro bills more expensive

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/07/2021 (1548 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It appears that the Progressive  Conservative government is planning on raising Hydro rates on Manitobans for the second time in a year, all without oversight from the Public Utilities Board.

At a Legislative Hydro committee meeting which took place at the end of June, the CEO of Manitoba Hydro shared that Manitobans can expect to see a 3.5 per cent rate increase effective Oct. 1.

When accounting for the 2.9 per cent increase which was imposed upon us in December 2020, Manitobans will have experienced 6.4 per cent in increases in their electricity rates within a 10-month span, all at a time when many Manitobans are facing greater economic insecurity than ever before.

One of the biggest concerns with these PC rate increases is that they’re being imposed without any oversight from the PUB. Typically, when a rate increase is proposed, the PUB reviews it to determine whether an that increase is justified to help Hydro meet its financial obligations.

With the PCs choosing to increase rates at the cabinet table, they are subverting this process entirely, choosing instead to legislate rate increases into effect without any form of independent review.

This means that Manitobans will never know if these rate increases were actually required in the first place, and it means that we will never know whether we are being asked to overpay for our electricity.

This is especially concerning given the PCs have a record of asking for Hydro rate increases that far exceed what is actually required to allow Hydro to meet its financial obligations. In 2018, the PCs went to the PUB to request a 7.9 per cent ro rate increase, but the PUB refused, allowing only a 3.6 per cent increase.

This speaks to the important role played by the PUB in protecting Manitobans from overpaying for electricity, and it speaks to the tendency of this PC government to seek rate increases that far exceed what is actually required.

Not only is government pushing forward a second rate increase without any oversight, it also intends to pass a bill this fall (Bill 35) that will permanently remove the PUB from the rate-setting process. This all but guarantees that citizens and businesses will be forced to pay significantly higher Hydro rates on a go forward basis.

If you have any questions or concerns about the information shared above, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office.

I can be contacted by email at adrien.sala@mbleg.ca, or by phone at 204-792-8779. We look forward to hearing from you.