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Just curious, but who are you blaming for this? The NDP or the PC?

My thoughts exactly. Its not our current government that got us to this situation. No matter what happens now we will all be paying , be it increase in hydro bill or increase in taxation if the government has to bail hydro out.

What are you even talking about? Hydro's debt will be increasing by $15B-$20B. Not sure where $50 billion came from.

drowning in debt... We`ll all have to pony up now

Investment in hydro electricity is a good thing though as coal is being phased out. The US will buy up whatever we can produce.

bigmoe said "Investment in hydro electricity is a good thing though as coal is being phased out. The US will buy up whatever we can produce. "

Agreed. One way or another, our rates will go up & we'll still be the cheapest province for power.

It's NPD and their smart idea about Bipole. Either way we have been luck so far but eventually we knew that we'd have to pay for something like this.

Investments in hydro electric power are a good thing. Investments, in general, are a good thing if you make a smart choice and invest wisely. Too bad that the NDP didn''t do that. Instead, they chose to make the least cost effective investment.  
 
The decision to run the lines along the wrong side of the lake was purely political. In fact, it was probably even a bad idea electrically. The farther you send electricity through a wire, the less efficient the transmission of electricity becomes. Essentially the same reason you want to use the shortest extension cord possible for the job. Would you use a 100'' extension cord to plug in your toaster when a 6'' cord would reach?  
 
It would have made far more sense, both economically and from an electrical standpoint, to run the lines down the east side of Lake Winnipeg. First Nations groups have been demanding for decades that an "all weather road" be built along the east side of the lake. So, by no means will the east side of the lake remain pristine wilderness once the road is built, if it even is now, and there is no sane reason why the hydro line known as Bipole 3 couldn''t have been built to run parallel to the proposed road wherever possible.  
 
In my opinion, the NDP based their decision on wanting to "look good" internationally, to the UN, and to try to appease the environmental activist groups they are so closely allied with. Because of this bad decision, Manitobans are going to be paying the bill for the most expensive, least efficient option. At least we know who to thank.  
 
Edited by Triplethreat, 2016-09-22 17:12:04