Manitoba Hydro’s 75th Annual Report outlines investments to strengthen Manitoba’s energy future
Manitoba Hydro released its 75th Annual Report in September, highlighting significant investments in Manitoba’s energy future while reporting a net loss of $446 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026.
The loss was primarily caused by severe drought conditions, which reduced hydroelectric generation and required Manitoba Hydro to import larger volumes of power to meet customer demand.
The utility also faced approximately $52 million in wildfire-related operating and capital costs during one of Manitoba’s most severe wildfire seasons on record.
Despite these challenges, Manitoba Hydro continued advancing major initiatives designed to meet Manitoba’s growing energy needs while maintaining affordable and reliable service.
Key achievements in 2025-26 included:
- Moving ahead with the plan to procure up to 600 megawatts of Indigenous majority-owned wind generation.
- Filing Manitoba Hydro’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan and proposed development plan, outlining a long-term strategy to ensure safe, reliable and affordable energy for our customers.
- Continuing investments to modernize the province's HVDC transmission system.
- Advancing plans for advanced meters; demand-response technologies and programs; and a more modern electricity grid.
- Continuing the development of an electric vehicle charging corridor between Winnipeg and Thompson.
Manitoba Hydro plans to invest nearly $17 billion over the next decade to maintain, renew and expand generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure. Those investments are intended to support future electricity demand, strengthen reliability and enable economic development.
Financial results in 2025-26 were negatively impacted by low water conditions, but the first quarter of 2026-27 reflects early signs of improvement after several years of severe drought. Water conditions started to improve with ideal snowpack, spring runoff and above-normal precipitation, and the outlook for hydro-electric generation was favourable as the quarter progressed.