Hydro

Hydro is also searching for a new CEO, after Allan Danroth departed in August.

The cost of the substation upgrades is expected to be between $600 million and $1.2 billion.

As for whether the cost could influence Hydro rates, which are set by the Public Utilities Board, Chura said the work is being done within existing budgets.

Chura and Sambrooke spoke to reporters while crews worked on new poles, power lines and other equipment on Sargent Avenue, west of Berry Street.

About 320 poles and related equipment are being replaced in the area as part of the decommissioning of a substation on Berry, which is expected to wrap up next spring. A newer substation on Madison Street will take over the electrical load for the area.

Similar modernization work will take place in and around substations across the city over the next 15 to 20 years. Some equipment in and around Manitoba Hydro’s substations was installed in the 1960s. The new project’s site conditions and questions from the judge have delayed the city’s decision on the development application. A judicial review asks a judge to take a second look at decisions made by the city and its directors.

The upgrades will connect high-voltage transmission lines to local distribution networks that serve homes and businesses. Manitoba Hydro’s latest annual report said the corporation plans to spend nearly $17 billion over the next decade to maintain, renew and expand infrastructure. The project will include improvements and replacements of existing infrastructure amounting to $742 million in 2025-26, an increase of $97 million year-over-year.

University of Winnipeg political sciences Prof. Malcolm Bird, who studies Crown corporations, said Hydro’s aging infrastructure extends to hydroelectric generating stations and transmission equipment. “It’s a problem on a number of levels. One is that old infrastructure breaks more and is less efficient,” he said. Noting sophisticated “smart grid” technology is needed to further modernize Hydro’s operations, Bird said some infrastructure upgrades could have been pursued sooner. “This comes back to low (electricity) prices and the allocation of surpluses when Hydro has produced surpluses,” Bird said. “Where do those surpluses go? Do they go to the government, do they go into general revenue or do they go into the company to pay off the debt or invest in the grid?” Byron Williams, a lawyer with the Public Interest Law Centre, said the PUB, with the support of his client, the Consumers Coalition, has urged Hydro for the past decade to modernize its distribution system.