Manitoba Hydro’s proposal to expand its gas-fired generating station in Brandon faced criticism recently when it was revealed that the plant had to lower its power output during cold snaps. The Crown corporation plans to invest $3 billion to install three new natural gas turbines alongside the existing pair in Brandon. This initiative aims to boost the province’s power capacity by 750 megawatts by 2030 to mitigate potential midwinter electricity shortages.
As part of a larger plan to make 1,760 megawatts of electricity available in the next decade, Manitoba Hydro is currently under 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 Brandon fuel-burning station was reduced on three occasions during the past 10 winter peak usage periods.
In response to questioning from Kent Elson, a lawyer representing the Manitoba Eco-Network, Sanclemente confirmed that the plant’s output was reduced during peak usage periods in January and December of 2022, as well as in January of this year. This admission was viewed by James Wilt, a policy director at the Manitoba Climate Action Team, as a rare acknowledgment that natural gas turbines may not be as reliable during winter cold snaps as previously believed.
Wilt and other critics have raised concerns about Manitoba Hydro’s emphasis on expanding fossil fuel usage rather than investing more in renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, as well as battery storage. Alongside the gas turbines, Hydro’s 10-year plan includes the construction of new wind farms capable of generating 600 megawatts by 2035, 5 megawatts of battery storage by 2034, and energy efficiency measures totaling 860 megawatts.
In a statement, Hydro spokesperson Peter Chura pointed out that occasional outages are a normal occurrence in any power generation system, noting that the Brandon gas turbines are over 20 years old. During the hearings, Hydro’s vice-president Dave Bowen defended the reliability of natural gas plants, highlighting past challenges faced by the Brandon station due to lack of investment in critical infrastructure and staffing issues.
The Public Utilities Board hearings on Manitoba Hydro’s energy plan are scheduled to continue until September 4.