WINNIPEG — Manitoba's premier says the province may need to spend far less than previously thought on new power plants. Wab Kinew said Friday that the Manitoba Public Utilities Board has concluded that one natural gas-fired turbine is needed for now, at a cost of about $1 billion. "This is good news," Kinew said. "Finding out that maybe we're going to save a few billion dollars and that there's going to be a more environmentally friendly path for it seems like a pretty good perspective for me." The Crown corporation Manitoba Hydro has maintained that three turbines, costing about $3 billion, are needed to meet peak winter demands within a few years. Environmental groups have pushed back against the plan, arguing that less extra capacity is needed and that renewable energy can make up more of the gap. The utilities board submitted its findings in a report to the government earlier this week, following lengthy hearings over the summer. Kinew didn't say when the government would make it public. Manitoba Hydro said it hasn’t seen the report and cannot comment. Kinew said the government would likely follow the recommendations of the report, but that the details are still being reviewed. The utilities board effectively rejected Manitoba Hydro's methodology on how it calculated future demand needs, said Kinew. The report says the province can instead start with a single 250-megawatt turbine and transmission capacity and can later add more. The findings show why oversight is important, said Kinew. "Hydro does very, very good work, but they are a monopoly and you need a regulator with independent expertise to keep a monopoly in check." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2026. Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
