Manitoba Hydro has finalized a deal that will see the Canadian utility supply 25 MW of power to SaskPower from November 2015 to May 2022.
The agreement is worth more than US$93 million when combined with another recent short-term sale between the utilities, Manitoba Hydro said, with more potential SaskPower purchases coming in the future.
“We want to ensure that we are able to meet the growing demand for power across the province, and keep power reliable, affordable and sustainable,” SaskPower president and CEO Robert Watson said.
The companies signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2013 to discuss the purchase of up to 500 MW of power beginning in approximately 2020.
“Although Manitoba Hydro regularly exports electricity to Saskatchewan, this 25 MW deal represents the first long-term firm sale between the two provinces in recent memory,” Manitoba Hydro president and CEO Scott Thomson said. “It demonstrates that the demand for renewable hydroelectricity from Manitoba — demand that we are working to convert into long-term export sales — is growing not just in the United States, but in Canada as well.”
Manitoba Hydro operates 15 hydroelectric power plants that generate nearly all the province’s electricity.
HydroWorld.com reported in March that the company had awarded a $1.25 billion contract to build the 695-MW Keeyask project — construction of which began this week, Canadian Hydropower Association president Jacob Irving reported at HydroVision International 2014 earlier today.
For more news from Canada, visit here.
