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Jarrod Malenchak of Manitoba Hydro on Water Resources and Dam Safety
The Pointe du Bois Generating Station in Manitoba.
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anitoba Hydro is the sole energy provider for the Canadian province of Manitoba. The provincially owned corporation produces the majority of its energy with its 15 hydropower facilities and has a current total capacity of 5,600 megawatts (MW). In this interview, Jarrod Malenchak, a section head within Manitoba Hydro’s water resources engineering department, tells Hydro Leader about his work at the company and about his role as chair of the Canadian Dam Association's (CDA) dam safety committee (DSC).
doctorate in the specialized topic of river ice engineering. The project was directly sponsored by Manitoba Hydro’s research and development program. By the time I obtained my PhD in 2012, I had already been working part time for Manitoba Hydro for almost 5 years. Not long after that, I took on a role as a section head in water resources engineering and have been in that role ever since.
Hydro Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
Jarrod Malenchak: The electric power industry has a history of over 100 years in Manitoba. Manitoba Hydro as we know it today was formed in 1961 through the merger of the Manitoba Power Commission and the Manitoba Hydroelectric Board. In 1999, Manitoba Hydro purchased Centric Gas, the main natural gas supplier in the province, from West Coast Energy, Inc. In 2002, Manitoba Hydro purchased Winnipeg Hydro, which was mainly focused on supplying electric power to the city of Winnipeg. After those two purchases, Manitoba Hydro became the sole energy provider in the province. We supply both electric power and natural gas to all customers in the province. Our infrastructure comprises 15 hydroelectric facilities spread over five different rivers—the Burntwood, Laurie,
24 | HYDRO LEADER | March 2021
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PHOTO COURTESY OF MANITOBA HYDRO.
Jarrod Malenchak: I am a section head within the water resources engineering department at Manitoba Hydro. My section provides the river ice and environmental engineering expertise for the company and leads the water resources engineering support for the Keeyask Generation Project in northern Manitoba, which is in the final stages of construction. I grew up in rural Manitoba, in the Interlake Region, and studied civil engineering at the University of Manitoba. During my undergrad years, I got interested in water resources research. By the time I graduated in 2004, I had plans for graduate school, which eventually led to a
Hydro Leader: Tell us about Manitoba Hydro.
