Manitoba Business: Manitoba Power Commission / Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board / Winnipeg Hydro / Manitoba Hydro

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Manitoba Power Commission | Winnipeg Hydro-Electric System | Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board | Manitoba Hydro | Facilities | Sources

Several corporate entities have existed in Manitoba to develop and market electric power in the province.

Manitoba Power Commission

The Manitoba Power Commission was created in early 1919 with the objective of delivering inexpensive electrical power to rural Manitobans at the cost of production. It constructed transmission lines around the province and operated crude-oil-burning power plants at Minnedosa and Virden. Initially, there was a single commissioner but it expanded to three commissioners in 1931.

On 1 April 1961, the Commission was amalgamated with the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board to form Manitoba Hydro, although the merged entity is still known legally as the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board.

Chairmen

Period	Chairman
1919-1921	James Maurice Leamy (1878-1933)
1921-1924	Joseph Rochetti (1879-?)
1924-1927	Clair Addison Clendening (1885-1950)
1927-1932	Douglas Lauchlin McLean (1886-1964)
1932-1946	Herbert Howard Cottingham (1880-1960)
1946-1948	William David Fallis (1909-1974)
1948-1961	Robert Charles Smellie (1898-1975)

Commissioners

Commissioner	Period
John Leslie Bodie (1909-1997)	1953-1957
Joseph Cameron Donaldson (1891-1973)	1960-1961
Gerald Frederick Habing (1908-1984)	1948-1961
Charles Etienne Huot (1908-1985)	1959-1961
John Joseph Kelly (1898-1952)	?-1949
Patrick Angus Kennedy (1880-1962)	?-1959
John William Sanger (c1887-1966)	1931-1945

General Managers

Period	General Manager
1932-1946	Herbert Howard Cottingham (1880-1960)
1946-1961	William David Fallis (1909-1974)

Assistant General Managers

Period	Assistant General Manager
?-1948	J. W. Tomlinson
1949-1961	L. B. Mackay

Comptrollers

Period	Comptroller
?-1942	C. A. Glover
1943-1947	?
1948-1950	J. E. Hamlin
1951-1954	W. R. Corner
1955-1961	A. K. McKean

Secretaries

Period	Secretary
1930s-1949	L. B. Mackay
1949-1961	G. A. Wrighton

Chief Engineers

Period	Chief Engineer
?-1948	J. W. Tomlinson
1949-1961	Thomas Latimore Woodhall (1908-1980)

Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board

The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board was established by the provincial government in 1949 to coordinate the development and operation of all electrical generating facilities in the province. For its first two years, it was operated by civil servant Donald Stephens, with formal appointments starting in 1951. The Board acquired the electrical assets of the Winnipeg Electric Company in January 1953. Eight years later, it was amalgamated with the Manitoba Power Commission to form Manitoba Hydro, although the combined entity continued to be known legally as the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board.

Period	Chairman and General Manager
1951-1961	Donald MacGregor Stephens (1903-1968)

Winnipeg Hydro-Electric System / Winnipeg Hydro

The Winnipeg Hydro-Electric System was created by the City of Winnipeg in 1911 to operate the Pointe du Bois Generating Station on the Winnipeg River. Later renamed Winnipeg Hydro, it merged with Manitoba Hydro in September 2002.

General Managers

Period	General Manager
1911-1912	James G. Rossman (?-?)
1912-1944	John Girdlestone Glassco (1879-1948)
1944-1951	John William Sanger (c1887-1966)
1952-1955	Herbert Lee Briggs (1903-1992)
1955-1960	Thomas Edwards Storey (1906-1978)
1960-1969	Donald Charles Bryden (c1905-1996)
1969-1978	Robert Thompson Harland (1917-2004)
1978-1988	Kenneth Hallgrimur “Ken” Hallson (1923-2006)
1988-2000	R. James Linton
2000-2001	Robert R. Tillotson (Acting) George S. Gabriel (Acting)
2001-2002	Ian H. McKay

Assistant General Managers

Period	Assistant General Manager
1912-1948	?
1948-1952	Herbert Lee Briggs (1903-1992)
1952-1955	Thomas Edwards Storey (1906-1978)
1955-?	?
?-1977	Max “Spiggy” Spigelman (1912-2008)
1977-2002	?

Chief Engineers

Period	Chief Engineer
1912-1922	Edwin Victor Caton (1884-1972)
1922-?	John William Sanger (c1887-1966)
?-1948	?
1948-1952	Thomas Edwards Storey (1906-1978)
1952-1956	Leonard Arthur “Len” Bateman (1919-2019)

Manitoba Hydro

Formed in 1961 by the amalgamation of the Manitoba Power Commission and the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board, it merged with Winnipeg Hydro in September 2002.

Chairs

Period	Chair
1961-1968	Donald MacGregor Stephens (1903-1968)
1968-1970	William David Fallis (1909-1974)
1970-1972	David Cass-Beggs
1972-1978	Leonard Arthur “Len” Bateman (1919-2019)
1978-1979	Leonhard Martin Wedepohl (1933-2013)
1979-1988	?
1988-1990	Alan Brian Ransom (1940-2020)
1990-?	Vic Schroeder

General Managers

Period	General Manager
1961-1971	William David Fallis (1909-1974)

Presidents / Chief Executive Officers

Period	President / Chief Executive Officer
1990-2012	Robert Bryan “Bob” Brennan (?-2021)

Secretaries

Period	Secretary
1961-?	John Francis Funnell (1925-2021)

Facilities

Hydro Generating Stations

Generating Station	River	Generators	Capacity (MW)	Builder	Construction Start	Construction Completed	Status
Grand Rapids	Saskatchewan	4	479	Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board / Manitoba Hydro	1960	1965	Operational
Great Falls	Winnipeg	6	129	Winnipeg Electric Railway Company	1914	1928	Operational
Jenpeg	Nelson	6	125	Manitoba Hydro	1972	1979	Operational
Kelsey	Nelson	7	286	Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board	1958	1961	Operational
Kettle	Nelson	12	1,220	Manitoba Hydro	1968	1974	Operational
Keeyask	Nelson	7	695	Keeyask Hydropower Limited Partnership	2014	2021	Operational
Laurie River	Laurie	3	10	Sherritt Gordon Mines	1952 (No. 1), 1958 (No. 2)	1952 (No. 1), 1958 (No. 2)	Operational
Limestone	Nelson	10	1,350	Manitoba Hydro	1985	1990	Operational
Long Spruce	Nelson	10	980	Manitoba Hydro	1973	1979	Operational
McArthur	Winnipeg	8	56	Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board	1952	1955	Operational
Pinawa	Winnipeg	9	22	Winnipeg Electric Railway Company	1903	1906	Decommissioned
Pine Falls	Winnipeg	6	84	Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board	1949	1951	Operational
Pointe du Bois	Winnipeg	16	75	Winnipeg Hydro Electric System	1909	1926	Operational
Seven Sisters	Winnipeg	6	165	Winnipeg Electric Company	1929	1931 (phase 1), 1952 (phase 2)	Operational
Slave Falls	Winnipeg	8	68	Winnipeg Hydro Electric System	1930	1948	Operational
Wuskwatim	Burntwood	3	214	Manitoba Hydro	2006	2012	Operational

Converter Stations

Converter Station	Construction Start	Completed
Dorsey	1968	1971
Henday	1973	1978
Keewatinohk	2012	2018
Radisson	1967	1971

Thermal Plants

Thermal Plant	Capacity (MW)	Completed
Brandon	327	1958
Selkirk	125	1960

See also:

History of the Electrical Industry in Manitoba by David S. G. Ross
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1963-64 Season

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Power Commission War Memorial (820 Taylor Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Power Commission Building (Minnedosa)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Steele Block / Metropolitan Store (360 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Hydro War Memorial (Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Hydro Fountain (Memorial Park, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board Building / Manitoba Hydro Building (650 Harrow Street, Winnipeg)

Manitoba Business: Winnipeg Electric Railway Company / Winnipeg Electric Company

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Events in Manitoba History: Rural Electrification

Powering the Province: Sixty Years of Manitoba Hydro by Manitoba Hydro, 2011.

“The History of Electric Power in Manitoba,” Manitoba Hydro.

Sources:

“Rossman’s resignation accepted by council,” Winnipeg Tribune, 30 January 1912, page 5.

“Shift in Hydro dept. approved by committee,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 August 1922, page 13.

“M’Lean resigns post as Chairman of Power Board,” Winnipeg Free Press, 16 December 1932, page 5.

“Cottingham quits Power Commission,” Winnipeg Tribune, 31 October 1946, page 1.

“R. C. Smellie heads Power Commission,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 February 1948, page 3.

Generating Stations, Manitoba Hydro.

Converter Stations, Manitoba Hydro.

Winnipeg Hydro Reflections: 1911 to 2002 by Winnipeg Hydro, 2002.

Regional Cumulative Effects Assessment for Hydroelectric Developments on the Churchill, Burntwood and Nelson River Systems: Integrated Summary Report, Manitoba Hydro, 2017, page 152.

We thank Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 29 May 2022