Latest news with #AllanDanroth
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Figures suggest six-figure payout for former Manitoba Hydro CEO
Manitoba Hydro power lines are photographed just outside Winnipeg, Monday, May 1, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods WINNIPEG — The former head of Manitoba Hydro was paid just over $881,000 last year, despite being dismissed six weeks into the year. Jay Grewal's earnings in previous years, where she had worked a full year, ranged from $500,000 to $546,000. The amount last year, revealed in an annual Manitoba Hydro compensation report, suggests a large lump sum payment when Grewal was let go as president and chief executive officer. Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro is not releasing details, saying only that Grewal was paid out according to the terms of her contract and that no severance was issued. Grewal was appointed by the former Progressive Conservative government and ruffled feathers last year when she said Manitoba would reach out to independent producers to supply power from wind and other sources. The NDP government said new energy resources would have to be publicly owned. The two also appeared to be at odds over the government's aim of having Manitoba Hydro at net zero emissions by 2035. The NDP replaced the Manitoba Hydro board soon after winning the October 2023 election, and the board parted ways with Grewal. Grewal, who could not be reached for comment, was replaced by Allan Danroth in the summer of last year. Danroth was paid a total of $192,454 for the months he worked, the compensation report says. The Canadian Press applied under Manitoba's freedom of information law last year for details of Grewal's package after she was let go. The request was refused under a section of the law that allows the government to not release personal information about a third party. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2025 Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Figures suggest six-figure payout for former Manitoba Hydro CEO
WINNIPEG — The former head of Manitoba Hydro was paid just over $881,000 last year, despite being dismissed six weeks into the year. Jay Grewal's earnings in previous years, where she had worked a full year, ranged from $500,000 to $546,000. The amount last year, revealed in an annual Manitoba Hydro compensation report, suggests a large lump sum payment when Grewal was let go as president and chief executive officer. Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro is not releasing details, saying only that Grewal was paid out according to the terms of her contract and that no severance was issued. Grewal was appointed by the former Progressive Conservative government and ruffled feathers last year when she said Manitoba would reach out to independent producers to supply power from wind and other sources. The NDP government said new energy resources would have to be publicly owned. The two also appeared to be at odds over the government's aim of having Manitoba Hydro at net zero emissions by 2035. The NDP replaced the Manitoba Hydro board soon after winning the October 2023 election, and the board parted ways with Grewal. Grewal, who could not be reached for comment, was replaced by Allan Danroth in the summer of last year. Danroth was paid a total of $192,454 for the months he worked, the compensation report says. The Canadian Press applied under Manitoba's freedom of information law last year for details of Grewal's package after she was let go. The request was refused under a section of the law that allows the government to not release personal information about a third party. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2025 Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press
CBC
29-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Manitoba Hydro proposes electricity rate hike of nearly 11% over 3 years
Manitoba Hydro is seeking permission to raise electricity rates by nearly 11 per cent over the next three years in order to fix aging infrastructure, increase generating capacity and mitigate the effects of drought and debt. The Crown corporation asked the Public Utilities Board afternoon to approve three annual rate hikes of 3.5 per cent, beginning in 2026, according to documents published Friday afternoon. The hikes would follow a one-year rate freeze promised by the NDP government — but criticized as reckless by consumer advocates and the Progressive Conservative Opposition. In its application to the Public Utilities Board, Hydro says it must spend $31 billion over the next two decades to improve the reliability of its existing infrastructure and expand its capacity to generate electricity. Some of the infrastructure along Bipole I and Bipole II, two of Hydro's three main transmission lines, is more than 50 years old, which is "one to three decades past the industry expected service life," and will alone requires billions worth of upgrades in the coming decades, the corporation writes in its rate application. Hydro also states it must increase its generating capacity by 2030 in order to avoid electrical-capacity shortfalls during peak-use periods in the winter. This winter, the corporation notified the Public Utilities Board of its intention to build a pair of new fuel-combustion turbines at a cost of $1.4 billion to meet this demand. In its rate application, Hydro warned it may need to build more gas turbines from 2035 to 2045, despite a provincial NDP directive to stop burning fuel to create electricity by 2035. "The current load forecast does not represent a path to net zero [carbon emissions] and as such there is the potential that additional investments will be needed," the application states. "In addition, inflationary factors continue to evolve and create uncertainty in current and future capital costs." Hydro is already carrying $24.6 billion worth of debt, which is $940 million higher than the forecast from its last rate application. Hydro revenues were down because of "drought and low water over the last two years," the rate application states. In a statement issued Friday evening, Hydro noted the proposed rate hikes would be the first for the Crown corporation since rates went up by one per cent on April 1, 2024. "We realize this is a challenging time for Manitobans already paying higher prices for many goods and services," Hydro president and CEO Allan Danroth said in the statement. "Manitoba Hydro is also facing increased costs and the rates we're requesting will ensure we can continue to provide safe, reliable energy now and into the future." Hydro has been warning about the need spend billions on infrastructure and new generating capacity since 2023. The provincial NDP nonetheless promised to institute a Hydro rate freeze when it ran for office that fall and has lauded a rate freeze for the 2025 calendar year. Katrine Dilay, a lawyer representing the Manitoba branch of the Consumers Association of Canada, has repeatedly questioned the fiscal wisdom of a Hydro rate freeze. Last fall, she warned rate hikes are required to to meet Manitoba's energy and capacity needs over the next decade. "So from our clients' perspectives, the commitment from the government creates a significant risk for future consumers of higher than necessary rate increases," Dilay said in November. PC Hydro critic Lauren Stone has also questioned the wisdom of the rate freeze. In a statement issued late on Friday, NDP government spokesperson Amy Tuckett-McGimpsey said the Hydro rate freeze provided "much-needed relief for families." The trio of 3.5 per cent rate hikes, which works out to a compound hike of 10.9 per cent over three years, she said, "balances affordability with investments in Hydro to ensure we build our economy for the future." Hydro is also committed to cutting costs, Tuckett-McGimpsey said.
