Manitoba Hydro rates going up

Manitoba Hydro is implementing a series of rate hikes over the next three years.

Manitoba Hydro’s newest electricity rates have been approved for the next three years.

The province’s Public Utilities Board (PUB) approved Hydro’s four per cent rate increase for 2026, as well as general revenue increases of 3.5 per cent starting in 2027 and three per cent in 2028.

The increases were sought by Manitoba Hydro in response to financial pressure brought by drought conditions. Last year, Hydro projected a loss of $409 million as water flows approached the second-lowest level in 112 years.

The board said a general rate increase and a general revenue increase are different. A rate increase is paid by every customer, while the revenue increases are differentiated by customer class.

“Some customer classes will see increases above these percentages and others below, to better align rates with the costs attributed to each class,” the decision reads.

PUB also raised concerns about energy poverty in the province due to the rate increase and is recommending the Manitoba government develop a strategy to address the issue. It also recommended a refundable tax credit to low-income ratepayers to help alleviate the burden for them.

Katrine Dilay, a lawyer with the Public Interest Law Centre of Legal Aid Manitoba, said the clients they represent were hoping for lower rates, adding they are disappointed by how much the rate is increasing.

She said they would have preferred to see rates at 2.25 per cent for each of the next three years, noting Hydro could have made cuts internally on their operating costs and infrastructure maintenance.

“There were better ways, based on the expert evidence they relied on, to prioritize and pace the spending so that the impact on ratepayers in the very short term could be lessened,” said Dilay.

She understands drought conditions played a role in the decision, saying the financial circumstances changed a lot for Hydro in 2025.

However, she still believes there were ways to keep the increases lower.

“They plan for these years of very low water; they plan for years of high water. And that’s why they have retained earnings that they can draw upon. So our independent experts still felt confident that with lower rate increases, Manitoba Hydro would be able to weather the storm.”

Dilay said her clients do have concerns about how this increase will impact low-income people who are unable to change their consumption habits.

“Electricity is, of course, a basic essential service. We did hear during the hearing about ratepayers making really difficult choices. For example, folks choosing not to use air conditioning, only heating specific rooms, not using their oven in order to save electricity. These rate increases will have a really big impact on these folks.”

She said she is happy to see the PUB telling Hydro that it needs to make hard choices moving forward if it is faced with similar circumstances in the future.

“Those are in the long term. We see those as very positive findings on behalf of ratepayers.”