The Pinawa story

This article provides a contemporary description of the complete project, including sections on the receiving substation located in Winnipeg and the transmission lines. Both of these sections have been minimized in this article to concentrate more on the main subject, namely Pinawa. The name Pinawa comes from "pinnowok," the Cree Indian word for "sheltered waters". In 1906, the population of Winnipeg was close to 100,000 and expanding rapidly, and the company had about 35 streetcars in operation along with some streetlights and a few domestic and business customers. Until then, costly electricity was being supplied by a coal-burning steam plant located in Winnipeg. Because electric streetcar transportation was the major growing load, the company decided to meet this challenge with the supply of low-cost hydroelectric power from the Winnipeg River some 65 miles to the northeast