Advocacy groups are calling on the provincial auditor to investigate Manitoba Hydro’s highly inaccurate cost estimates for the new Bipole III transmission line.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Bipole III Coalition and Manitoba Forward say Hydro’s latest estimate of $4.6 billion follows years of denials from the utility that leaked documents suggested the project would cost in the $4 billion range.
Hydro had long cited lower estimates of $2.2 billion and $3.3 billion, the groups said in a news release.
“All these cost overrun announcements by Manitoba Hydro ultimately mean higher rates for Manitobans,” said Colin Craig, prairie director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “The auditor needs to investigate why Manitoba Hydro kept telling Manitobans one story while calculating higher costs behind closed doors.”
Municipal Government Minister Stan Struthers, the minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro, told the Winnipeg Free Press that the auditor general is welcome to examine Bipole III’s cost.
Struthers told the newspaper that Hydro has assured him the costs to build Bipole III will not increase as the utility now has a working budget for the project.
“I’m like any Manitoban,” he added. “I’m not happy when I see numbers come in higher than what the estimates were. I can’t imagine anybody would be happy with that, but those were numbers that were estimates.”
