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![\"RUTH](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Hydre-Hal-Turner.jpg\")
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RUTH BONNEVILLE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
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Hal Turner, Hydro\u2019s current Chief Operating Officer is now the interim president and CEO.<\/p>\n
Turner wouldn\u2019t say whether he will apply to be the next permanent CEO.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t given a lot of thought to what the future holds. I\u2019m kind of focused on bringing a little bit of stability in the interim,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Wilson wouldn\u2019t say whether Danroth resigned or departed on his own initiative. \u201cMr. Danroth is leaving for personal reasons. I can\u2019t get into any of the details,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n
He credited Danroth with leading Hydro through important changes, including safety culture improvements and an IT overhaul to replace aging software for internal systems.<\/p>\n
Danroth\u2019s exit happened while the Public Utilities Board nears the end of six weeks of hearings to scrutinize Hydro\u2019s energy plans for the next 10 years, including three proposed natural gas-powered turbines in Brandon at an estimated cost of $3 billion.<\/p>\n
The corporation, which has almost 5,500 full-time equivalent employees, is grappling with a projected energy shortfall, debt of $25 billion and aging infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do question why the NDP is now going to be on their third CEO in less than three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement, Finance Minister Adrian Sala, who is responsible for Hydro, thanked Danroth for his leadership and wished him success. Neither Sala nor Premier Wab Kinew was available for an interview, a spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n
Danroth was vice-president of operations at Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries before replacing Jay Grewal, who was fired,<\/a> as CEO in 2024. Turner, who\u2019s been with Hydro since 1995, was interim CEO during the previous transition.<\/p>\n Tory hydro critic Lauren Stone said the CEO and board turnover raises questions about how the NDP government \u201ccannot keep stability\u201d at the Crown corporation while spending billions on infrastructure.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to speculate as to the reasons (Danroth) is stepping down. However, I do question why the NDP is now going to be on their third CEO in less than three years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Wilson said Turner will be a \u201csteady hand,\u201d while describing Hydro\u2019s executive team as \u201cworld class.\u201d He said the search for a new CEO will reflect board and provincial priorities, including affordable energy, collaboration with Indigenous communities, supporting staff and moving forward with the 10-year integrated resource plan.<\/p>\n Stone said Danroth appeared frustrated when he addressed the opening of the PUB hearings on July 27, specifically when he discussed electricity grid modelling software that has received \u201cserious\u201d offers of purchase since being developed by Hydro.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Allan Danroth, president and CEO of Manitoba Hydro (Mikaela MacKenzie \/ Free Press files)<\/p>\n Had Danroth not made those comments, there would be no transparency on the offers or opportunities when Hydro desperately needs money to offset debt, Stone said.<\/p>\n Danroth told the PUB global energy companies offered hundreds of millions of dollars to buy the software.<\/p>\n Wilson said the remarks did not factor into Danroth\u2019s departure. He said the government did not influence Danroth\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n At the hearings, Danroth lashed out at critics of Hydro\u2019s 10-year plan,<\/a> and said the utility was \u201cmanaging\u201d eight credible threats against employees, including five toward him.<\/p>\n He warned Hydro isn\u2019t the \u201cenergy superpower\u201d many people think it is owing to growing demand, drought and low water levels. Wilson said the board supports the plan.<\/p>\n \u201cThe corporation is in trouble. I would say Manitoba Hydro is broken, and I think these presidents quickly realize that.\u201d<\/p>\n The NDP government replaced Hydro\u2019s board of directors weeks after winning the 2023 election. The board later fired Grewal and appointed Danroth. Wilson became board chair in December.<\/p>\n Danroth was paid $544,440 in 2025, the compensation disclosure report shows. Grewal, his predecessor, earned $546,698 in 2023, her last full year before she was dismissed.<\/p>\n She was paid just over $881,000 in 2024 despite being fired six weeks into the year. Hydro said she was paid out according to the terms of her contract.<\/p>\n Wilson would not say whether Danroth\u2019s compensation will experience a similar bump in his exit year. Wilson said Hydro will follow the terms of Danroth\u2019s contract, which he cannot disclose.<\/p>\n James Wilt, a policy development manager with Climate Action Team Manitoba, said Danroth\u2019s departure is surprising given the timing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of the last days of the PUB hearings into the (integrated resource plan) and major new facilities which, itself, has been contentious,\u201d said Wilt, who is scheduled to present in favour of wind power and battery storage at Monday\u2019s session. \u201cThe fact that this was announced when it was, I think, indicates there is some dissatisfaction at board level and perhaps government level, as well, about how Hydro has conducted itself through these hearings.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t RUTH BONNEVILLE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Jamie Wilson, Manitoba Hydro’s board chair.<\/p>\n Wilt said he hopes Danroth\u2019s replacement prioritizes \u201creliable and cost-effective technologies,\u201d such as wind and solar generation, battery storage and ground source heat pumps.<\/p>\n Leslie Dysart, CEO of the Community Association of South Indian Lake, noted Hydro is seeking its fifth permanent CEO since Bob Brennan retired in 2012 after 22 years in the role.<\/p>\n \u201cThe corporation is in trouble. I would say Manitoba Hydro is broken, and I think these presidents quickly realize that,\u201d said Dysart, who gave a presentation to the PUB hearings last week.<\/p>\n He said the timing of Danroth\u2019s exit, while Hydro\u2019s plan faces scrutiny and criticism from some groups, including the association, is \u201csuspect.\u201d Dysart believes Hydro cannot afford the infrastructure it plans to build.<\/p>\n The province, Hydro and South Indian Lake, now known as O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation, reached an $18-million settlement agreement in 1993 over flooding and other impacts caused by the Churchill River diversion project. The community was forced to relocate.<\/p>\n \u201cHydro thinks in a very medium- and long-term way, so stability at the top and consistency at the top of the organization is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n Dysart said the next CEO must include Indigenous communities and voices in future planning, and conduct \u201cmeaningful\u201d consultation when operating licences for hydraulic facilities are renewed.<\/p>\n Several First Nations are currently suing Hydro, he noted.<\/p>\n Malcolm Bird, a University of Winnipeg political science professor who studies Crown corporations, said it\u2019s concerning when leadership changes happen often.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cHe\u2019s been there for two years. That\u2019s really quite difficult for a big organization like Hydro, particularly one that is engaged in long-term projects, building dams and wind farms and transmission lines,\u201d Bird said.<\/p>\n \u201cHydro thinks in a very medium- and long-term way, so stability at the top and consistency at the top of the organization is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n On the positive side, there is a lot of expertise and deep institutional knowledge at Hydro during the transition period, he said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t RUTH BONNEVILLE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Manitoba Hydro, which has almost 5,500 full-time equivalent employees, is grappling with a projected energy shortfall, debt of $25 billion and aging infrastructure.<\/p>\n \u2014 with files from Carol Sanders<\/p>\n chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Chris Kitching Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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