NDP announce overhaul of Hydro board
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/12/2023 (1016 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The NDP government has appointed nine new members to the board of Manitoba Hydro, with one returning member who was chosen by the previous Progressive Conservative government.
Finance Minister Adrien Sala announced an overhaul of the Crown corporation’s directors on Monday.
One of the board’s top priorities will be to ensure the long-term affordability of Manitoba Hydro rates and reliability of service for the people of Manitoba by being careful stewards of Hydro’s finances, Sala said.
“Hydro is the source of our Manitoba advantage, which is a low-carbon energy economy that keeps energy costs affordable for families and provides thousands of good jobs across the province. In order to continue building this advantage, Hydro must always be kept public and never privatized,” Sala said in a news release.
The board chair is former Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) chief executive officer Ben Graham, who is the chief executive officer of Manitoba Blue Cross and was with MPI from February 2018 to October 2020.
“I know how important Manitoba Hydro is to this province,” Graham said in a release. “This new board will ensure Hydro remains a leader in providing renewable energy for Manitobans while keeping rates affordable.”
The returning board member is Nicole Chabot, the vice president of L. Chabot Enterprises, a Winnipeg-based heavy construction company.
The new directors include:
• Jamie Wilson, Red River College Polytechnic vice-president of Indigenous strategy, research and business development.
• Tom Akerstream, a former manager and advisor at Manitoba Hydro.
• Joy Cramer, Southern Chiefs’ Organization chief executive officer.
• Vernon Kalmakoff, a First Nations entrepreneur in the Westman region.
• Paul Moist, former national president at Canadian Union of Public Employees.
• Mike Spence, mayor of Churchill.
• Leslie Turnbull, senior adviser and former principal of Viewpoints Research.
Sala appointed Thompson MLA Eric Redhead to sit on the board as a government representative.
Board members received a new mandate letter from Sala, which included a directive for them to develop a plan to freeze electricity rates for one year, create a strategy to generate hydrogen during off-peak hours, roll out geothermal energy retrofits in collaboration with Efficiency Manitoba, and establish an Indigenous Advisory Circle.
“Your goal is to provide the oversight, vision and sound fiscal stewardship to harness the untapped potential of Manitoba Hydro so we can keep rates low for families, support our province’s economic development potential, advance Indigenous reconciliation and move Manitoba into a clean-energy future,” Sala wrote in his mandate letter.
» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com
» X: @enviromichele