Nelson River Hydroelectric Project

The stations at Kelsey, Kettle, Long Spruce and Limestone were built on the lower Nelson River to support both Manitoba load growth and export plans.

The great distance between generating sites on the Nelson River and load centres in southern Manitoba required the use of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission lines to bring the energy to market.

[8](55°51′37″N 99°19′51″W / 55.8604°N 99.3308°W / 55.8604; -99.3308 (Notigi Control Structure)) Before the construction of the diversion, the Manitoba portion of the Churchill River was estimated to have 3 gigawatts of hydroelectric potential.

One such project, Bipole III, had been discussed with communities on the east side of Lake Winnipeg, but this area has been reserved by the provincial government, making transmission line construction infeasible.

The effects of this diversion on pre-existing water levels and the indigenous Cree and Métis people continue to be felt to this day.

Negotiations between the affected Northern communities and Manitoba Hydro continue, to discuss mitigation measures and compensation for loss of traditional resource areas and sites.

Manitoba Hydro has pointed out that the regulation project also allows lake level to be lowered, such as during the 1997 floods, thereby preventing significant property damage.

[11] Concerns about the magnitude and cost of Hydro development led the provincial government to start an inquiry into the management of the company.

Powerplants (existing and planned) of the Nelson River Hydroelectric Project, Manitoba, Canada (2006). The Churchill Diversion diverts part of the Churchill at South Indian Lake south into the Rat River branch of the Burntwood River.