NDP Leader Wab Kinew announced that a Manitoba NDP government would freeze hydro rates for one year and announced plans to repeal Bill 36.
In a media release Tuesday, Aug 22, Kinew said “The cost of everything is going up, but your hydro bill doesn’t have to. The provincial government should leverage the clean, affordable energy of hydro to deliver cheaper monthly bills. A Manitoba NDP government will freeze hydro rates and stop the privatization of Manitoba hydro.”
The release said “Under the PCs, families are paying 20% more on their hydro bills since 2016. Heather Stefanson raised hydro rates at the cabinet table, even during the pandemic. Instead of strengthening the PUB and keeping hydro public, the PCs have broken up pieces of hydro and sold them off with plans for more privatization.
This summer, the PCs promised that they will hike rates again and introduce surge pricing for Manitobans who use electricity during peak times. When discussing the proposed rate hike, Stefanson’s handpicked Hydro Board Chair compared Manitoba Hydro to Dollarama, and worried that rates may be “too cheap.”
“I’ve known hard times, and I can see how many seniors and working families in Manitoba are struggling,” said Assiniboia senior, Anne Richen. “Wab and the NDP understand what we’re going through and they want to help. The hydro freeze will make life more affordable for people across Manitoba.”
In response to to this announcement, the Manitoba Liberals said in a statement, “The NDP is promising to put back money from Manitoba Hydro that they took in the first place. Manitobans have faced electricity rate hikes and Hydro workers have faced cuts and freezes because the NDP and PCs were bleeding Hydro of hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
The Liberals say “Between 2010 and 2021, NDP and PC governments each took about $2-billion from Hydro. That added $4-billion to Hydro’s debt – 40% of new debt over ten years. In 2017-18, the PC Government of Brian Pallister alone took $363-million from Manitoba Hydro. This half-hearted policy to lower rates and cut Hydro costs is taken straight from the MLP 2019 election platform where we committed to ceasing the practice of raiding Manitoba Hydro of hundreds of millions of dollars annually. You can’t trust the people who broke the system to fix it.”
The provincial election is scheduled for October 3rd.
