Natural Resources committee  We were involved in discussions between Ontario and Manitoba 15 years ago on building large interconnections between northern Manitoba and Sudbury and Winnipeg and Sudbury. The ultimate goal was to deliver renewable energy from Manitoba into Ontario. The reason those discussion

Natural Resources committee  On the Keeyask partnership with the four indigenous communities in whose resource area we're building the Keeyask generating station, we couldn't have built the project without their involvement and their support. The project has provided them with economic development opportunit

Natural Resources committee  Right. We do have four isolated northern communities that are still on diesel fuel. Do you build very long transmission lines to connect those communities? Those investments are in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars. Or do you invest in windmills and in solar farms to h

Natural Resources committee  I can't really speak to what conversations have happened between government and Manitoba Hydro on that issue. It's outside of my expertise.

Natural Resources committee  Yes. Most of our surplus water supply is in the summertime, when Manitoba is experiencing light loads, so the transmission line is mainly used in the summertime when we have large surpluses available and limited reservoir storage capability to store the energy. Then in the winte

Natural Resources committee  I think right now Saskatchewan is looking at its options to achieve its emission reduction targets. It can look at the options that exist in the province or it can look to take advantage of the large surplus hydroelectricity supplies that are available in Manitoba. Without more

Natural Resources committee  It's not something that the Manitoba electricity ratepayers need to invest in. This would be an investment for the benefit of ratepayers in Saskatchewan, then, to help Canada achieve its policy goals.

Natural Resources committee  Right now there are five transmission lines that connect the provinces. They're generally at a 230,000-volt capability. To add one more line of that size to increase our export capability by 100 megawatts would cost a couple of hundred million dollars. A 500-kilovolt line that mi

Natural Resources committee  I'm not that familiar with the environmental process that has been taken to route the line, but I do understand that the values that were put into the line routing study represented the values of the communities through which the line was routed, and the balance that was made ref

Natural Resources committee  There are potentially four regulatory processes that we have to go through because it's an international transmission line. You have the state process in Minnesota. You also have the federal process in the United States. We have to go through the provincial environmental licensin

Natural Resources committee  Remember, not only do these transmission lines allow us to export; they also allow us to import. The main value for this line is our ability to import and defer the need to build new generation resources some time in the future. We felt there was value in the line even if Manitob

Natural Resources committee  Yes. The single biggest challenge between Manitoba and Saskatchewan is funding. Manitoba's electric sector is already 100% renewable. We already have a very large and adequate interconnected capability into the United States. For us to invest a half a billion dollars or a billion

Natural Resources committee  Okay. MISO will continue to be a premium market for Manitoba Hydro; however, more intertie capacity between western provinces, particularly between Manitoba and Saskatchewan, will permit significant wind-hydro synergies, and the benefits to accrue will also accrue in Canada, bec

Natural Resources committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, and committee members. It's a pleasure to appear before you today. I am video conferencing from my office in Winnipeg this afternoon. I appreciate the opportunity to provide input for your study on the value of electricity interties. My qualification