On July 31, Wab Kinew committed to banning the Stefanson’s PCs plan for surge pricing for Hydro.

“Life is already too expensive and surge pricing would make hydro even more expensive for families when they need power the most”, said Wab Kinew, leader of the Manitoba NDP. “It’s clear Heather Stefanson has a plan to hike hydro rates even higher after the election with her plan for surge pricing. She is copying the playbook from Ontario where Hydro has been broken up and privatized and rates have gone up with surge pricing hitting families hard”.

On Friday, Stefanson’s handpicked Hydro CEO finally admitted “we definitely want to do this” regarding surge pricing for regular Manitoba families. For years Kinew and the NDP have warned Manitobans the PCs first under Brian Pallister and now Heather Stefanson have a plan to hike hydro rates with surge pricing. While the PCs have denied it, it is clear Manitobans will pay more to heat their homes under Heather Stefanson.

‘Surge pricing’ involves increasing the cost of electricity at different points in the day above the standard rate. In Ontario, peak price times can increase the cost of Hydro by approximately 70% from other points in the day from 7.4 cents/kwh to 15.1 cents/kwh.

" A Manitoba NDP government will never charge you more to use Hydro when you need it most—like running your AC on a hot summer day or heating your home during a winter cold snap,” added Kinew.