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Endangered
Top 10
2019
Young
Historians
2019
Field Trip:
Churchill
2020
Manitoba
History
No. 89
War
Memorials
in Manitoba
This Old
Elevator
Abandoned
Manitoba
Memorable
Manitobans
Historic Sites
of Manitoba
Manitoba Business: Manitoba Power Commission / Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board / Winnipeg Hydro / Manitoba Hydro
Link to:
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 operated hydroelectric power generators on the Winnipeg River and crude-oil-burning power plants at Minnedosa and Virden. On 1 April 1961, it was amalgamated with the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board to form Manitoba Hydro.
Chairmen
Period
Chairman
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
Clair Addison Clendening (1885-1950)
1924-1927
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
James Maurice Leamy (1878-1933)
1919-1921
Douglas Lauchlin McLean (1886-1964)
1927-1932
Joseph Rochetti (1879-?)
1921-1924
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 1951. It 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.
Period
Chairman and General Manager
1951-1961
Donald McGregor 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)
1952-2002
?
Manitoba Hydro
Formed in 1961 by the amalgamation of the Manitoba Power Commission and the Manitoba Hydroelectric Board, it merged with Winnipeg Hydro in September 2002.
Chairmen
Period
Chairman
1961-1968
Donald McGregor Stephens (1903-1968)
1968-1970
William David Fallis (1909-1974)
General Managers
Period
General Manager
1961-1971
William David Fallis (1909-1974)
Facilities
Hydro Generating Stations
Generating Station
River
Generators
Capacity (MW)
Builder
Construction Start
Construction Completed
Status
Saskatchewan
4
479
1960
1965
Operational
Winnipeg
6
129
1914
1928
Operational
Nelson
6
125
1972
1979
Operational
Nelson
7
286
1958
1961
Operational
Nelson
12
1,220
1968
1974
Operational
Keeyask
Nelson
7
695
Keeyask Hydropower Limited Partnership
2014
2021
Under construction
Laurie River
Laurie
3
10
Sherritt Gordon Mines
1952 (No. 1),
1958 (No. 2)1952 (No. 1),
1958 (No. 2)Operational
Nelson
10
1,350
1985
1990
Operational
Nelson
10
980
1973
1979
Operational
Winnipeg
8
56
1952
1955
Operational
Winnipeg
9
22
1903
1906
Decommissioned
Winnipeg
6
84
1949
1951
Operational
Winnipeg
16
75
1909
1926
Operational
Winnipeg
6
165
1929
1931 (phase 1),
1952 (phase 2)Operational
Winnipeg
8
68
1930
1948
Operational
Wuskwatim
Burntwood
3
214
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 SeasonHistoric 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)
Manitoba Business: Winnipeg Electric Railway Company / Winnipeg Electric Company
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: 7 June 2019
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