2nd Session, 43rd Legislature

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Bill 28

THE MANITOBA HYDRO AMENDMENT ACT

(Assented to                                         )

HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

C.C.S.M. c. H190 amended

1   The Manitoba Hydro Act is amended by this Act.

2   The centred heading after section 47 is replaced with "SERVICE EXTENSIONS AND ENHANCEMENTS".

3   Section 49.1 is replaced with the following:

Corporation may impose terms and conditions

49.1   The corporation may impose terms and conditions on the extension or enhancement of the supply of power by the corporation to a customer, including requiring the customer to contribute to, or pay for, capital expenditures relating to the extension or enhancement. The customer must comply with the terms and conditions.

4   The following is added after section 49.1:

Definitions

49.2(1)   The following definitions apply in this section.

"large supply of power" means

(a) the extension by the corporation of a supply of more than the threshold amount of power; or

(b) the enhancement by the corporation of a supply of power by more than the threshold amount;

to a customer's project or to two or more related projects. For this purpose, "threshold amount" means the amount prescribed by regulation or, if none is prescribed, five megawatts. (« fourniture d'énergie en grande quantité »)

"service" means an extension or enhancement by the corporation of a supply of power to a customer in response to the customer's request. (« service »)

Corporation to deny request for service

49.2(2)   The corporation must deny a request for service if the request or proposed use of the power is prescribed in the regulations as ineligible.

Corporation to deny request for large supply

49.2(3)   The corporation must deny a request for a large supply of power if

(a) it is not reasonably feasible for the corporation to supply the requested power considering the corporation's capacity to supply the power and the impact on the province's electricity grid; or

(b) the requirements prescribed in the regulations for a large supply of power are not met.

Corporation may require information

49.2(4)   The corporation may require a customer to provide information for the purpose of determining if the customer's request for service must be denied under subsection (2) or (3). The corporation is not required to make a determination until after the information is provided.

Corporation's decision is final

49.2(5)   The corporation's determination that a request for service must be denied under subsection (2) or (3) is final.

Duty to serve and priority of service

49.2(6)   Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the corporation must provide service in response to a request for service. Subject to the regulations and any direction given by the minister under subsection (7), services must be provided in the order in which the requests are received.

Minister may direct priority be given

49.2(7)   If the minister considers it to be in the public interest to do so, the minister may direct the corporation to provide service in response to a customer's request in priority to other requests for service. The corporation must comply with the direction.

Direction to be made public

49.2(8)   If the minister gives a direction under subsection (7), it must be made public, in a manner determined by the minister, within 30 days after the corporation has entered into a written agreement with the customer to construct the facilities necessary for supplying the requested power.

Protection from liability

49.2(9)   No action or proceeding may be brought against the corporation or the minister for anything done, or omitted to be done, in good faith, in the exercise or intended exercise of a power or duty under this section or a regulation made under this section.

Regulations re requests for supplies of power

49.2(10)   The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) for the purpose of the definition "large supply of power" in subsection (1), prescribing an amount of power, not less than one megawatt, as the threshold amount;

(b) specifying circumstances in which two or more projects are considered related for the purpose of determining whether a request for service is a request for a large supply of power;

(c) for the purpose of subsection (2), prescribing requests for service and uses of power as ineligible;

(d) prescribing eligibility requirements for the purpose of subsection (3), including

(i) prescribing eligible and ineligible uses of power, and

(ii) prescribing criteria for determining a project's eligibility and how the criteria are to be applied;

(e) for the purpose of subsection (6), prescribing uses of power which must be given priority by the corporation when addressing requests for service;

(f) authorizing the corporation to discontinue a supply of power to which this section applies if

(i) a customer is in material default of any representation made in an application for a large supply of power,

(ii) there is a material change respecting the use of power supplied by the corporation, or

(iii) the power is used for an ineligible purpose;

(g) respecting the discontinuance of the supply of power to a customer, including

(i) providing for the removal of meters, wires, facilities and equipment of the corporation from the premises of the customer, and

(ii) providing for the allocation of, or exemption from, liability for losses, costs, damages or expenses resulting from the discontinuance or removal;

(h) defining a word or expression used but not defined in this section;

(i) respecting any matter the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary or advisable to carry out the purpose of this section.

Classes

49.2(11)   A regulation made under this section may establish classes and may deal with classes differently.

Conflict

49.2(12)   If there is a conflict between a regulation made under this section and a regulation made under subsection 28(1), the regulation made under this section prevails.

Application

49.2(13)   This section applies to every request for service, whether made before or after the day this section came into force, other than a request in respect of which the corporation has, before that day, entered into a written agreement with the customer to construct the facilities necessary for supplying the requested service.

5   The centred heading "MISCELLANEOUS" is added before section 50.

Validation — directives to Manitoba Hydro

6   All things done, including those things that had the effect of suspending the processing of requests for electric service, under the following directives made under The Crown Corporations Governance and Accountability Act are validated and deemed to have been lawfully done:

(a) A Directive to Manitoba Hydro Electric Board Respecting Electric Service to Cryptocurrency Operations, effective November 16, 2022;

(b) A Directive to Manitoba Hydro Electric Board Respecting Electric Service to Cryptocurrency Operations, effective April 10, 2024.

Transitional

7   If

(a) a customer requested an extension or enhancement of the supply of power before the coming into force of this Act;

(b) the customer paid an amount to The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board with respect to that request that was not otherwise refunded to the customer; and

(c) the customer's request is denied under subsection 49.2(2) or (3) of The Manitoba Hydro Act, as enacted by section 4 of this Act;

The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board must repay the amount to the customer, without interest, as soon as reasonably practicable after the coming into force of this Act.

Coming into force

8   This Act comes into force 90 days after the day it receives royal assent or on a day to be fixed by proclamation, whichever occurs first.