Even as Greg Selinger settles into his new role as Premier, the decisions he made as Minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro may end up being the ones that give him the most headaches in the days and months ahead.
As Manitoba’s largest and most significant crown corporation, Manitoba Hydro plays a critical role in the future prosperity of our province. The NDP have often compared the province’s hydro electric power to Alberta’s oil. Despite that bravado, the debt of Manitoba Hydro has skyrocketed under the NDP government and there are even more troubling concerns on the horizon.
Over the past month, allegations from a consultant who has worked for Manitoba Hydro for many years have come to light. The consultant has said publicly that she provided information to Manitoba Hydro officials that showed that more than $1 billion has been lost by the corporation because of mismanagement. According to the consultant, when she provided this information and analysis to Hydro officials, she was quickly fired.
Also concerning are the warnings raised that Manitoba Hydro is dramatically underestimating the corporation’s risk from drought and power disruptions and that it is overestimating its future powers sales to the United States.
The debt of Manitoba Hydro has grown significantly under the NDP watch and during the time Mr. Selinger was responsible for the crown corporation. The NDP have raided Hydro to help pay for government overspending and they have forced Hydro to make a number of poor business decisions. One example was the direction by Mr. Selinger and his government to force Hydro to build a new transmission line down the west side of the province instead of the east side despite the fact the east side would be much shorter, safer, more environmentally friendly and save hundreds of millions of dollars. Even though Hydro officials themselves prefer the east side route, Mr. Selinger has stubbornly refused to allow the eastern route to proceed and instead he is willing to force Hydro ratepayers to pay the nearly $1 billion added cost of taking the western route.
All of these concerns have caught the attention of the Auditor General who has determined that an audit into the books of Manitoba Hydro should take place. An independent, impartial audit of Hydro’s operations as well as its ability to handle risks such as drought needs to be undertaken and completed as soon as possible to ensure Manitoban’s can have faith in the financial stability of their province’s greatest asset.
Mr. Selinger may have left the job of Minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro. But as Premier, the decisions he and his government have made regarding Manitoba’s largest crown corporation and the challenges it faces as a result, are sure to follow him into his new job.
