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News from week of October 12th ā 19th, 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.
Atlantic Canada Becomes the New Front in the AI Power RaceNova Scotia landed a $10-billion AI data centre and federal wind money, while utilities elsewhere planned upgrades that customers will help pay for.
In this week's issue...
š Anthropic leases a $10-billion Nova Scotia data centre; Ottawa puts $100 million into offshore wind. š° Ontario bills set to rise under OPG's settlement as Newfoundland Power seeks its biggest upgrade. šļø Manitoba Hydro plans up to $1.2 billion to renew 42 aging substations. Note from the Editor Good evening! I have some exciting news to share... Grid Watch and Grid Monitor have made Manitoba's Top 5 cleantech innovations! I'll be pitching at the MEIA Green Dragon Pitch Competition in early November. Thank you as always for reading, sharing, and supporting this project. ā Rob 
Premier Tim Houston speaks at EverWind's Point Tupper data centre campus announcement. Source: The Globe and Mail. National HeadlinesAnthropic signs on to $10-billion Nova Scotia data centreThe Globe and Mail, October 16th 2026 EverWind Fuels unveiled a data centre campus at Point Tupper, N.S., and Anthropic has signed a long-term lease for its first phase. EverWind says the campus could cost $8 billion, plus $2 billion for four wind farms. A 95 MW phase is slated for late 2027 and a 325 MW phase for 2028. The wind farms won't be finished first, so grid impacts are being studied; the companies pledged to fund all connection and upgrade costs. Ottawa commits $100 million to Nova Scotia's Wind West offshore wind planGlobal News, October 15th 2026 Federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson announced $100 million to advance Wind West, Nova Scotia's proposed offshore wind development. About $5 million will deploy tools to measure wind speeds and ocean conditions ahead of a call for bids expected this winter, and nearly $3 million expands transmission modelling and marine surveys. The province aims to license up to five gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, which Premier Tim Houston said could draw $40 billion to $60 billion in private investment. PerspectiveEarly estimate finds that Canada's emissions increased in 2025 as clean electrification laggedCanadian Climate Institute, October 8th 2026 Seton Stiebert, a senior fellow at the Canadian Climate Institute, and Ross Linden-Fraser, acting director of its 440 Megatonnes project, estimate national emissions rose 0.9 per cent in 2025, to about 691 megatonnes. Electricity emissions climbed roughly 5 per cent as gas-fired generation filled gaps left by drought-reduced hydro output and nuclear refurbishments. The authors argue the deeper problem is that Canada is not electrifying: generation has risen only 3 per cent since 2005, while natural gas use has climbed 48 per cent. Non-emitting sources supplied about 80 per cent of power in 2025, down from 84 per cent in 2020. Their prescription is to double clean electricity supply, electricity use and efficiency, a build-out that would fall largely to utilities' planning, procurement and rate cases.
Regional RoundupManitoba Hydro plans up to $1.2 billion to renew 42 substationsCBC News, October 16th 2026 Manitoba Hydro will replace or upgrade 41 substations in Winnipeg and one in Brandon over the next 15 to 20 years, at a cost the utility pegs between $600 million and $1.2 billion. Some equipment dates to the 1960s. The work often extends to the poles, lines and transformers in each station's neighbourhood: decommissioning Winnipeg's Notre Dame station alone involves about 600 poles and 25 kilometres of line over three years. Ten data centre projects seek grid connections in New BrunswickBNN Bloomberg, October 19th 2026 NB Power has confirmed 10 data centre applications in its connection queue that together would need up to 900 megawatts, but it declines to identify most of them, citing confidentiality. Saint John residents opposing one project say records released by Opportunities New Brunswick show the province weighing proposals without clear rules or public information. The provincial government sees the facilities as a source of tax revenue and jobs.
Policy & PricingOPG rate settlement points to higher Ontario power billsThe Globe and Mail, October 15th 2026 Ontario Power Generation reached a settlement with ratepayer and industry groups on its 2027ā2031 rates, now before the Ontario Energy Board. OPG estimates the typical monthly bill, about $142 today, would rise by nearly $13 over five years, less than the $17 it first sought. The rates reflect nearly $3 billion in extra Darlington maintenance, the $20.9-billion Darlington SMR program and the $26.8-billion Pickering refurbishment.
Newfoundland Power proposes $242-million upgrade of two aging plantsCBC News, October 16th 2026 Newfoundland Power has asked the province's Public Utilities Board to approve a $242-million upgrade of its Wesleyville and Greenhill generating stations, both more than 50 years old. It would be the largest capital project in the Fortis-owned utility's history and would raise rates about two per cent after six years. Wesleyville produces 8 MW of a possible 14.7 MW because of technical limits, while Greenhill's output has slipped to 20 MW from 25 MW. 
Newfoundland Power is seeking approval for the largest capital project in its history. Source: CBC News. Innovation & TransitionNova Scotia Power says reliability plan is cutting outagesCTV News, October 16th 2026 Nova Scotia Power says its five-year, $1.3-billion reliability plan pushed outages in 2025 to their lowest level since 2012. The utility spent $205 million last year on tree trimming, equipment upgrades and grid modernization; tree-related outages fell 19 per cent and equipment-related outages 14 per cent. It plans to spend another $250 million this year, while acknowledging that not all performance standards were met. Affordability tops Canadians' priorities for new power supply, CanREA findsCanadian Renewable Energy Association, October 13th 2026 CanREA's Clean Power Nation report finds affordability is Canadians' top priority for new electricity supply, chosen by 33 per cent nationally and 42 per cent of rural respondents, ahead of reliability and build speed. Citing Canada Energy Regulator scenarios of 26 to 85 per cent demand growth by 2050, the association estimates up to 64 gigawatts of new wind, solar and storage could be needed by the mid-2030s, a $200-billion investment opportunity.
Worth NotingOntario will import 600 MW from New York this winter during maintenance. Read More CBC News, October 17th 2026 Ontario cuts electricity rebate to 15.7 per cent; winter prices also fall. Read More CBC News, October 18th 2026 Fort Simpson, N.W.T., gets $41.7-million LNG plant replacing aging diesel generation. Read More CBC News, October 18th 2026 B.C. parties split on AI data centres days before provincial election. Read More CBC News, October 19th 2026 Windstorm cut power to 15,000 FortisAlberta customers across central, northern Alberta. Read More CTV News, October 15th 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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