Energy Opportunities Office

Manitoba Hydro (MH) has proposed an expansion plan involving capital expenditures of more than $10 billion. To capitalize on these expenditures and to provide support for the growing renewable energy sector, the Energy Opportunities Office was created to help:

  • build capacity within Manitoba companies interested in participating in Manitoba Hydro tenders
  • make companies aware of Manitoba Hydro opportunities before tenders are issued or finalized, and
  • increase Manitoba content related to hydro developments over the next decade.

A $30 million Manitoba Energy Jobs Fund was also created to provide flexible loans to assist Manitoba companies expand and to attract international companies to establish operations in the province in anticipation of new energy projects.

Although the key element of the EOO is the Jobs Fund, the EOO will have other provincial financial support programs including the Green Energy Equipment Tax Credit (GEETC); Manitoba Investment Tax Credit (MITC); Manitoba R&D Tax Credit; the Commercialization Support for Business (CSB) Program and training support from the Department of Jobs and the Economy.

For more detailed information on our financial support programs: Incentives and Government Programs

Manitoba Hydro's Capital Projects

Some of the highlights of the capital projects being undertaken by Manitoba Hydro include the following.

  • Keeyask is a 695 MW project on the lower Nelson River with a capital expenditure of $6.2 billion. Construction is scheduled from 2014 to 2021, with first power potentially flowing in 2019.
  • Bipole III is a 1,364 km high voltage direct current 2,300 MW transmission line that links northern hydro-electric power stations to southern load centres and is being built to improve overall system reliability and dependability. The projected in-service date for this project is anticipated for 2017 and the capital cost of Bipole III is $4.6 billion.
  • The Manitoba-Minnesota Transmission Project consists of a 750 MW, 500 kV AC transmission line in southeastern Manitoba, connecting at the border with Minnesota Power's proposed Great Northern Transmission Line with an ISD of 2020. The project would enable power to be exported to the U.S. based on current sales agreements, improve reliability and import capacity in emergency and drought situations, and increase access to markets in the U.S. Manitoba Hydro's portion of the cost is estimated to cost $350 million.
  • Manitoba Hydro is also planning on replacing the spillway facilities at Pointe du Bois at a capital cost of $560 million.
  • The Riel Reliability Improvement Initiative project is designed to improve the reliability of the transmission system serving Winnipeg and southern Manitoba. The project will modify the existing 500 kV high voltage international transmission line running from Dorsey Converter Station north of Winnipeg to Minnesota at a cost of $268 million and will be completed in 2016.

For more information on the EOO please contact:

Manitoba Hydro projects greater than $50,000 are generally tendered through MERX. The MERX website is: https://www.hydro.mb.ca/tenders/merx.shtml