If there’s one thing we’ve got a nose for, it’s news about Manitoba Hydro.
To open Episode 6 – a recap of the Canada Day weekend road trips to Vita and CFB Shilo, more about Marty’s column exposing antisemitism at the Pride parade, and a peek at Marty’s upcoming Winnipeg Sun column with St. Boniface residents battling to save Happyland Pool.
10.38 Part 2 – Going back to our exclusive KICK-FM interview with ‘Miss Whistle’ – our listeners have heard important explanations about what the Crown Corporation’s numbers have really meant.
As you’ll hear, going back to 2015 it was apparent that the poor decisions of the Doer/Selinger NDP era has saddled Manitoba Hydro with an unmanageable debt/equity ratio and almost a Billion going to interest payments and not to power infrastructure, repair and upgrades.
Now, brownouts and blackouts that used to be rare, are a regular occurrence because of system failures, Hydro admits, in a report with the bleak financial forecast.
Riding his wave of popularity, Wab Kinew assures the media, wind farms will save the day. And he’s saying No, No, No to Nuclear power – despite it being good enough for our neighbouring provinces.
18.00 – We ask a few questions MSM didn’t – how much power comes from wind farms already? How much does it cost? Aren’t wind farm operations subsidized by the government already? How will this make, and not lose, money?
You’ll hear a review of how Hydro’s financial plan in the past included subsidizing power for Minnesota users- and how Kinew’s plan will more than double the current Hydro debt- which is guaranteed by the Province.
20.52 – Kinew’s backslide on Hydro- he originally promised to freeze rates – hasn’t hurt his honeymoon with voters. Until now.
“A pretty good road map” for him is emulating a Quebec plan. Listen to the math behind how much power Manitoba Hydro needs to build- and based on the Quebec model, a good guess at the astronomical cost.
We also touch on other elements at play that MSM ignores- including construction inflation, eco-credits, the utter lack of residential charging capacity in Winnipeg, and the ‘Net-Zero’ ideology.
And then there’s the unions.
The sound of the bottom line is truly jarring- and could disable the economy and bankrupt Manitoba Hydro.
Marty asks, what happens when Hydro goes broke. Will Wab be telling you to turn out the lights?
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