This is a list of public utility electrical generating stations in Manitoba, Canada.
Manitoba produces close to 97% of its electricity through hydropower. The most important hydroelectric development in Manitoba is the 3,955-megawatt Nelson River Hydroelectric Project. Its 5 power stations produced 27.4 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2014-2015, meeting 75.7% of the provincial demand.
Manitoba Hydro, the government-owned public utility is the main power generator in the province with 15 hydroelectric generating stations, 2 fossil-fuel plants and 4 diesel generators, for a total installed capacity of 5,701 MW. [1]
The two wind farms in Manitoba are privately owned and sell energy to Manitoba Hydro for distribution to customers.
| Name | Location | Capacity (MW) | Date | Owner | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Leon Wind Farm | St. Leon | 99 | 2005 | Algonquin Power | [3] |
| St. Joseph Wind Farm | Montcalm | 138 | 2011 | Pattern Energy | [4] |
| Name | Location | Units | Capacity (MW) | Date | Owner | Type | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Generating Station | 49°50′44″N99°53′16″W / 49.84556°N 99.88778°W | 3 | 327 | 1958–2002 | Manitoba Hydro | Natural gas | [1] |
| Selkirk Generating Station | 50°8′32″N96°53′3″W / 50.14222°N 96.88417°W | 2 | 125 | 1958–2020 | Manitoba Hydro | Natural gas | [1] |
List of all Manitoba Hydro power plants in Manitoba serving loads in communities not connected to the North American power grid.
| Name | Location | Capacity (MW) | Date | Owner | Type | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brochet | Brochet | 3 | Manitoba Hydro | Diesel | [1] | |
| Lac Brochet | Lac Brochet | 2 | Manitoba Hydro | Diesel | [1] | |
| Shamattawa | Shamattawa | 3 | Manitoba Hydro | Diesel | [1] | |
| Tadoule Lake | Tadoule Lake | 2 | Manitoba Hydro | Diesel | [1] |
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery to end users or its storage, using for example, the pumped-storage method.
The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the exception of the City of New Westminster, where the city runs its own electrical department and portions of the West Kootenay, Okanagan, the Boundary Country and Similkameen regions, where FortisBC, a subsidiary of Fortis Inc. directly provides electric service to 213,000 customers and supplies municipally owned utilities in the same area. As a provincial Crown corporation, BC Hydro reports to the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, and is regulated by the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC). Its mandate is to generate, purchase, distribute and sell electricity.
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower. Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4,500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also more than nuclear power. Hydropower can provide large amounts of low-carbon electricity on demand, making it a key element for creating secure and clean electricity supply systems. A hydroelectric power station that has a dam and reservoir is a flexible source, since the amount of electricity produced can be increased or decreased in seconds or minutes in response to varying electricity demand. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, it produces no direct waste, and almost always emits considerably less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel-powered energy plants. However, when constructed in lowland rainforest areas, where part of the forest is inundated, substantial amounts of greenhouse gases may be emitted.
The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board, operating as Manitoba Hydro, is the electric power and natural gas utility in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1961, it is a provincial Crown Corporation, governed by the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board and the Manitoba Hydro Act. Today the company operates 16 interconnected generating stations. It has more than 527,000 electric power customers and more than 263,000 natural gas customers. Since most of the electrical energy is provided by hydroelectric power, the utility has low electricity rates. Stations in Northern Manitoba are connected by a HVDC system, the Nelson River Bipole, to customers in the south. The internal staff are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 998 while the outside workers are members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034.
The electricity sector in Canada has played a significant role in the economic and political life of the country since the late 19th century. The sector is organized along provincial and territorial lines. In a majority of provinces, large government-owned integrated public utilities play a leading role in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. Ontario and Alberta have created electricity markets in the last decade to increase investment and competition in this sector of the economy.
The Nelson River Hydroelectric Project refers to the construction of a series of dams and hydroelectric power plants on the Nelson River in Northern Manitoba, Canada. The project began to take shape in the late 1950s, with the planning and construction of the Kelsey dam and hydroelectric power station, and later was expanded to include the diversion of the upper Churchill River into the Nelson River and the transformation of Lake Winnipeg, the world's 11th largest freshwater lake, into a hydroelectric reservoir. The project is owned and operated by Manitoba Hydro, the electrical utility in the province.
According to the International Hydropower Association, Canada is the fourth largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world in 2021 after the United States, Brazil, and China. In 2019, Canada produced 632.2 TWh of electricity with 60% of energy coming from Hydroelectric and Tidal Energy Sources).
The history of electricity sector in Canada has played a significant role in the economic and political life of the country since wide-scale industrial and commercial power services spread across the country in the 1880s. The development of hydropower in the early 20th century has profoundly affected the economy and the political life in Canada and has come to symbolize the transition from "old " industrialism of the 19th century to a "new", modern and diversified, Canadian economy.
