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News from week of October 19th – 26th, 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.
Who Pays to Power Canada’s Growing Electricity Needs?Governments and utilities from Yukon to New Brunswick argued this week over who covers rising power costs as data centres and electric cars add demand.
In this week's issue...
💰 Yukon warns bills could jump another 53% without federal help; N.L. cuts power bills 15%. ⚖️ New Brunswick’s regulator says NB Power may have cost customers $158 million at Point Lepreau. ⚡ Ottawa says provinces, not the federal government, must manage data centres’ electricity demands. 
Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson led the B.C. Conservatives to a majority on Oct. 24. Source: CBC News. National HeadlinesOttawa says provinces must manage data centres’ power demandsGlobal News, October 22nd 2026 Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon told a Senate committee the federal government “is not responsible for power,” leaving data centre electricity use to provincial regulators. Ottawa has received more than 160 data centre proposals and signed four memoranda of understanding with developers. Its Responsible Data Centre Development Principles ask companies not to shift electricity costs onto Canadians, but they are voluntary. Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia are drafting their own data centre laws. Carney says Canada’s Candu bid in Turkey has ‘good chances’BNN Bloomberg, October 23rd 2026 Prime Minister Mark Carney said AtkinsRéalis has “good chances” of supplying Candu reactors for two planned Turkish nuclear plants, a bid he called a long shot a year ago. The company is running a feasibility study at Sinop on the Black Sea, and Turkey’s decision is expected around year-end or the COP31 summit in November. The bid follows a new Canada–Turkey strategic partnership with energy as a pillar, and supports Ottawa’s goal of entering four new nuclear markets by 2040. OpinionFor a more affordable Canada, optimize electricity demand while building new supplyPembina Institute, October 19th 2026 Kari Hyde and Kevin Lockhart, directors at the Pembina Institute, argue that doubling Canada’s electricity supply by 2050 is necessary but not enough. Pointing to Puerto Rico and Pakistan, where rooftop solar, batteries and microgrids kept power on after grid failures, they call for a regulatory rulebook that puts customer-side resources on equal footing with new generation. Utilities could invest in efficiency, demand response, rooftop solar and batteries, recover those costs, and pay customers fairly for grid services. Where those resources meet the same system need, the authors argue, they can avoid or defer spending on generation, transmission and distribution. For utilities, that would turn homes, buildings and EV chargers into assets they can procure, with programs open to renters and low-income households. They want it to start with this fall’s federal budget.
Regional RoundupB.C.’s new Conservative government pledges to repeal CleanBC and triple LNG outputCBC News, October 25th 2026 Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson’s Conservatives won a majority promising to rein in B.C.’s deficit and reverse many NDP policies of the past nine years. The party’s energy plan would double liquefied natural gas production by 2032 and triple it by 2035, and it has promised to repeal CleanBC, the NDP plan to cut emissions 40 per cent by 2030. It also pledges to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and cut regulatory red tape. Yukon warns power rates could climb another 53 per cent without federal helpYukon News, October 20th 2026 Energy Minister Ted Laking told a House of Commons committee that Yukoners face a further 53 per cent rate increase, about $2,100 a year per household, unless Ottawa helps fund more than $1 billion in electricity infrastructure. Rates are already set to rise 34 per cent between 2025 and 2027, with costs shared among 24,000 ratepayers. After last winter’s near-blackout at −45°C, the territory wants a 75-25 federal split for new thermal generation and Mayo plant repairs. Nova Scotians weigh the payoff of a $10-billion AI data centreGlobal News, October 23rd 2026 More than 18,000 people have signed a petition opposing EverWind’s data centre at Point Tupper, which Anthropic plans to lease for 20 years. The first phase is 95 megawatts, with a 325-megawatt expansion planned by mid-2028. A York University report finds Canada’s 194 existing data centres can draw 1.6 gigawatts, while about 22.7 gigawatts are under construction or announced. EverWind promises 2,000 construction jobs and 215 permanent positions. 
The Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station on New Brunswick's Bay of Fundy coast. Source: CBC News.
Policy & PricingN.B. regulator faults NB Power over $158-million Lepreau repair decisionCBC News, October 21st 2026 The New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board retroactively approved NB Power’s 2025 refurbishment of Point Lepreau’s main generator, accepting the repair was urgent and done in good faith. But the board cited a “lack of rigour”: NB Power never asked its consulting engineer whether a temporary fix could last a second winter. Delaying full repairs to spring 2026, when replacement power is cheaper, could have saved customers up to $158 million. NB Power calls those savings only potential. N.L. moves ahead with 15 per cent power rebate before Churchill Falls deal is finalGovernment of Newfoundland and Labrador, October 22nd 2026 Premier Tony Wakeham announced $54 million in affordability measures, led by an accelerated Churchill Falls Electricity Rebate. Starting in January 2027, residential customers of Newfoundland Power and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro will get 15 per cent off their bills, an estimated $351 a year for an average household. The rebate was originally tied to finalizing the Churchill Falls agreement with Quebec. The province is also doubling its Home Heating Supplement to $1,000.
Innovation & TransitionManitoba Hydro explores managed EV charging as a capacity shortfall loomsWinnipeg Free Press, October 21st 2026 Manitoba Hydro is considering “managed charging” pilots that would stagger when electric vehicles charge, as it forecasts a capacity deficit of up to 600 megawatts by the end of 2030. Vice-president Alex Chiang told an Electric Mobility Canada conference that unmanaged electrification could add several gigawatts of peak demand, and that half the solutions in Hydro’s 10-year plan are customer-based. Incentives for flexible control of EV charging and water and space heating are possible.
Worth NotingSault Ste. Marie’s smart grid spared nearly 8,000 customers outages this year. Read More CBC News, October 24th 2026 Yukon tells its power corporations not to pursue coal-fired generation. Read More CBC News, October 26th 2026 Electricity emissions are rising; Indigenous co-ownership could speed clean builds. Read More CBC News, October 22nd 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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