Hydro chair says Manitoba’s new carbon tax could be used to offset rising rates
WINNIPEG — The chair of Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro says the province should use some revenue from its planned carbon tax to offset sharply rising electricity rates.
The provincial utility is seeking annual rate hikes of eight per cent over the next few years to help it deal with ballooning costs from two new projects: the Keeyask generating station and the BiPole Three transmission line. Regulatory hearings on the application are scheduled to start Monday.
The proposed rate hikes are being opposed as unnecessary and unaffordable by groups including the Consumers Association of Canada.
Board chairman Sanford Riley said in a speech to the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce the province could help low-income earners and others deal with the rate hikes by diverting some of the $260 million a year it expects to collect from a carbon tax that will be enacted next year.