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News from week of October 5th – 12th, 2026
Disclaimer: Grid Watch is an independent publication. Views expressed are author's own and do not reflect the positions of Manitoba Hydro or any other featured utility.
Canada’s Power Companies Bulk Up as Bills Come Under PressureA blockbuster utility merger, a $37-billion Ontario grid plan and proposed 17 per cent N.B. rate hikes show the cost of expanding Canada’s power system.
In this week's issue...
⚡ Emera and Canadian Utilities plan a $72-billion merger creating one of North America’s largest utilities. 💰 Hydro One files a $37-billion grid plan as N.B. Power defends 17.4 per cent rate hikes. ☢️ New Brunswick First Nations pick microreactors for Canada’s first floating nuclear power plant. 
Emera CEO Scott Balfour, whose company plans to merge with Canadian Utilities and ATCO. Source: The Globe and Mail. National HeadlinesEmera bids for national powerhouse with $35-billion Canadian Utilities, ATCO mergerThe Globe and Mail, October 6th 2026 Halifax-based Emera announced a friendly all-stock merger with Calgary’s Canadian Utilities and parent ATCO, valuing their shares at $14.3 billion. The combined company would carry a $72-billion enterprise value, rank among North America’s 20 largest utilities and plan $32 billion in investment over four years. CEO Scott Balfour says the scale will help build networks for data centres, gas pipelines and integrated provincial grids. ATCO will spin off its non-utility businesses; closing is expected in 2027. Hodgson pledges oil and gas at ‘heart’ of economic strategy as national electrification stallsCanada’s National Observer, October 8th 2026 Energy Minister Tim Hodgson told a Toronto risk summit that energy and resources sit at the heart of Canada’s economic recalibration, citing LNG exports and the Pacific Link oil pipeline. The Canadian Climate Institute reports emissions rose one per cent last year on higher natural gas use, with the grid’s non-emitting share falling from 84 to 80 per cent since 2020. Advocates released a list of 110 clean power projects, including the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link.
In the market for a new heating system? Federal government unveils $2B heat pump rebate programBNN Bloomberg, October 8th 2026 Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a $2-billion national heat pump rebate aimed at supporting up to one million home retrofits. Households below the median income could receive up to $10,000 and others up to $2,000 through an online portal, while 280,000 multi-unit residences become eligible for upgrades through existing programs. Officials say heat pumps use less than half the electricity of baseboards, saving homes heated by oil or baseboards about $1,400 a year. OpinionData Dive with Nik Nanos: When it comes to energy, Canadians want it allThe Globe and Mail, October 9th 2026 Pollster Nik Nanos, chief data scientist at Nanos Research and a fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Positive Energy Initiative, argues Canadians are moving past the either-or energy debate. His tracking finds a record 75 per cent back expanding oil and gas exports, while 62 per cent want to shift more of their own energy use to electricity and 35 per cent have already taken steps. Looking five years out, respondents rank affordability first (38 per cent), with reliability and emissions tied at 26 per cent, and give hydro the biggest future role (28 per cent), ahead of nuclear (17 per cent). Nanos flags weak confidence in energy decision-making, with just 17 per cent rating it positively, and argues the real test is making hard trade-offs among cost, reliability and emissions that Canadians want all at once. Regional RoundupN.S. clears path to review Nova Scotia Power financial plan promising $265M in savingsCBC News, October 9th 2026 Nova Scotia approved regulations letting the Nova Scotia Energy Board hold a hearing on securitization, 10 months after Premier Tim Houston questioned the idea. Nova Scotia Power immediately filed a 430-page application, saying that refinancing existing costs at lower interest rates and spreading repayment over 30 years would save customers about $265 million — up from the roughly $85 million discussed at earlier rate hearings.
N.B. Power leaders face tough questions on rate hikesCBC News, October 9th 2026 MLAs on New Brunswick’s public accounts committee pressed N.B. Power CEO Lori Clark over proposed 5.5 per cent increases in each of the next three years, totalling 17.4 per cent. Clark blamed nearly two decades of politically driven rate freezes for deferred maintenance. CFO Justin Urquhart said about a third of the increase covers federal coal phase-out compliance by 2030 and a third limits growth in the utility’s $6-billion debt. The Energy and Utilities Board must approve the hikes. Policy & PricingHydro One submits five-year investment plan to the Ontario Energy Board to support reliability, security and growthHydro One, October 7th 2026 Hydro One filed its 2028–2032 joint rate application with the Ontario Energy Board, proposing about $37 billion in transmission and distribution investment — roughly $7.4 billion a year, against $3.4 billion invested in 2025. The plan would add capacity for about 6,000 MW of new supply, modernize roughly 1,400 km of transmission lines and replace or refurbish more than 85,000 poles. A typical residential bill would rise an average $1.14 a month each year for transmission. 
The Keephills natural gas power plant in Parkland County, Alta. Source: CTV News. Why renewables are being left out of Alberta’s data centre power plansCTV News, October 10th 2026 The Alberta Electric System Operator’s proposal for the next phase of its Bring Your Own Generation process would let only gas-fired generation qualify to power grid-connected data centres, excluding renewables, hybrids and standalone storage. Energy Storage Canada and the Pembina Institute urged a technology-agnostic approach. Data centres have requested about 20,000 MW, the AESO has allocated 1,200 MW, and the final framework is now expected this fall.
Innovation & TransitionPlans advance for floating nuclear plant in New Brunswick, a first among G7 countriesThe Globe and Mail, October 9th 2026 Prodigy Clean Energy and the Pabineau and Eel River Bar First Nations selected two 22-megawatt BWXT Advanced Nuclear Reactors for a demonstration floating plant near Belledune, N.B. It would be the first floating nuclear plant in a G7 country and the first nuclear project majority-owned by First Nations. Prodigy has not disclosed a price and is seeking private and federal funding; an independent industry assessment doubts the economics for remote sites.
Worth NotingFTL proposes 100-megawatt data centre in Miramichi, promising 600 permanent jobs eventually. Read More CBC News, October 9th 2026 Edmonton council raises electricity franchise fee to 19.4 per cent from January. Read More CTV News, October 6th 2026 Google, environmental coalition set to question Hydro-Québec data-centre rate consultants. Read More The Globe and Mail, October 9th 2026 Enjoying this brief? Share it with a colleague. Subscribe to Grid Watch hereHave a news story we should cover, a tip, or thoughts on this edition? Send it over. Want to reach this audience? Sponsor a future edition. |
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Grid Watch | By Action Intelligence Group (AIG) | 421 Mulvey Ave, Winnipeg, MB, Canada | © 2026 Action Intelligence Group. All rights reserved. |
