Critics opposing Manitoba Hydro’s proposed expansion of its gas-fired power plant in Brandon found support last week when Manitoba Hydro disclosed that it had to decrease power output at the facility during extreme winter cold spells. Manitoba Hydro is set to invest $3 billion to incorporate three new natural gas turbines alongside the existing pair in Brandon, with the aim of boosting the province’s energy production by 750 megawatts by 2030 to mitigate potential winter power shortages.
As part of a larger strategy to make 1,760 megawatts of electricity, which accounts for over a quarter of its current capacity, available over the next ten years, Manitoba Hydro is undergoing scrutiny by the Public Utilities Board through a series of public hearings. During a hearing on July 29, Cheryl Sanclemente, Hydro’s energy markets director, testified that the maximum power output at the 280-megawatt Brandon fuel-burning plant had to be reduced in three out of the last ten winter peak usage periods.
Under questioning from Kent Elson, a lawyer representing the Manitoba Eco-Network, Sanclemente confirmed that the Brandon plant’s output was curtailed during peak usage periods in January and December 2022, and in January this year. This testimony was highlighted by James Wilt, policy director for the Manitoba Climate Action Team, as a rare acknowledgment by Manitoba Hydro that natural gas turbines might not be as reliable during winter cold snaps as previously claimed.
Wilt and other critics have raised concerns about Manitoba Hydro’s preference for expanding fossil fuel usage instead of investing more in renewable energy sources like wind farms, solar power, and battery storage. Alongside the plan for new gas turbines, Hydro’s ten-year strategy includes the construction of five megawatts of battery storage by 2034, development of wind farms capable of generating 600 megawatts by 2035, and energy efficiency measures totaling 860 megawatts.
Hydro spokesperson Peter Chura defended the occasional outages of power generation sources, noting that the Brandon gas turbines are more than two decades old. In response to criticisms on reliability, Hydro’s vice-president Dave Bowen emphasized the need for continued investment in maintaining the Brandon station to ensure reliability, citing past challenges due to lack of investment in critical infrastructure.
The public hearings by the Public Utilities Board on Manitoba Hydro’s energy plan are ongoing and scheduled to conclude by September 4.
