WINNIPEG — Manitoba Hydro will close two dozen district offices in southern Manitoba, including customer service counters, in a move to cut costs and modernize the way the Crown corporation does business.
The closures will begin January 2014 with the shutdown of customer service counters in 24 district offices, Manitoba Hydro officials said in a news release Tuesday. The offices will shut down completely in 12 communities in March 2014, with the remaining 12 closing by March 2017.
Hydro says the closures will save it about $2 million a year, while avoiding another $50 million in future upgrades at the affected offices.
“Centralizing this in this way will save us a considerable amount of money going forward,” said Manitoba Hydro spokesman Glenn Schneider.
Customers who still wish to pay bills or do other business in person will be able to so at one of 16 customer service centres, which should be no more than a 40 minute drive away, Hydro officials said. The 94 staff at the affected district offices will be moved to the customer service centres.
“Manitobans are changing the way they do business with us. With fewer and fewer customers using local offices to make bill payments or access other services, the time was right for us to take the next steps in streamlining our district office model,” Manitoba Hydro president and CEO Scott Thomson said in a news release. “Moving to a modern, central-hub customer service model will allow us to be more efficient, providing more consistent service at a reduced cost and ultimately passing those savings on to customers.”
Hydro said it first began reorganizing its customer service districts in 2007 with the creation of the 16 customer service centres in rural Manitoba. The corporation said it has seen a “steady decline in customer transactions at district offices and a corresponding shift to using customer service centres or making bill payments either online or by phone.”
Locations slated for full closure in March 2014 are:
- Erickson
- Elie
- Carberry
- MacGregor
- Reston
- St. Martin
- Somerset
- Leaf Rapids
- Carman
- Morris
- Niverville
- Piney
Locations that will be closed by March 2017 are:
- Minnedosa
- Hamiota
- Gladstone
- Altona
- Roblin
- St. Pierre
- Birtle
- Treherne
- Shoal Lake
- Lundar
- Souris
- Stonewall
Manitoba Hydro’s rural customer service centre locations are:
- Lac du Bonnet, 120 Minnewawa St.
- Morden, NW2-3-5W
- Steinbach, 175 North Front Dr.
- Selkirk, 805 Greenwood Ave.
- Portage la Prairie, 50-14th St. NE
- Ashern, 34 First St.
- Arborg, 389 Main St.
- Dauphin, 480 Whitmore Ave.
- Neepawa, 500 Main St. E.
- Swan River, 105 Valley Rd.
- Russell, PTH 45E
- Brandon, 2505 Victoria Ave. E.
- Virden, 100 Airport Rd.
- Killarney, 993 Railway St. N.
- The Pas, 420 Third St. E.
- Thompson, Highway 6 Road 1
Comments