Powerful vision

Len Bateman, 100, pushed Hydro to pursue northern expansion

By: Kevin Rollason

Every time a Manitoban flicks a light switch, they should thank Len Bateman — and a long ago train delay.

Bateman, who died Dec. 7, 2019 (five weeks short of his 101st birthday), was the architect and prime mover behind Manitoba Hydro’s decision not to build more coal-fired plants and pivot to generating hydroelectric power via dams on the Nelson River.

Bateman worked for Hydro for 23 years. By the time he retired as the utility’s chairman and chief executive officer in 1979, two generating stations had been built, Southern Indian Lake and Lake Winnipeg were being used to store water, two high-voltage direct-current transmission lines to southern Manitoba had been constructed, as well as three hydro lines to the United States.

"He really did see the big picture," his daughter, Joyce, said recently. "He was just a visionary."

However, he likely would not been around to do any of it if his mother’s train hadn’t been delayed in 1912, as she was travelling from Birmingham, England, to begin a new life in Canada.

"There was some delay on the rail line, so she missed her boat. It was April; it was the Titanic," Joyce said. "We’ve always thought, ‘Oh my goodness, none of us would exist if she’d been on time.’ She wouldn’t have been in first class."

The Titanic sank April 15, 1912, on its maiden voyage. An estimated 832 passengers died, the majority were travelling in second and third class.

Leonard Arthur Bateman was born Jan. 14, 1919, the second of four children to Arthur and Mabel.

He attended Winnipeg schools Lord Roberts, Riverview, Kelvin, United College and the University of Manitoba.

"He almost had to quit in this third year," Joyce said. "That’s why he (later) set up his scholarship, to help engineering students in their third year. He said, ‘I’ve been so fortunate. Why? Because I got an education and did what I loved.’"

The scholarship has since grown to help two students annually, and has paid out more than $60,000.

Bateman was athletic — he won the Winnipeg to Kenora one-day cycling race several times in the 1930s — but was rejected for service in the Second World War because of a heart murmur.

He met his wife, Eileen, when she was working as a makeup artist at United College’s theatre club and he was in a production.

"She put his beard on," Joyce said. "He said he walked her to the bus on the first night, and got on the bus with her the second night."

They were together for 54 years until she died in 1996. They had two daughters, Donna and Joyce, and a son, Gary, who died in 2009. Bateman is also survived by five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Will Tishinski, who worked with Bateman at Manitoba Hydro for almost 23 years, said Bateman was the driving force in the construction of the Kettle and Long Spruce generating stations, as well as the high-capacity electrical power lines linking them to southern Manitoba.

"Hydro was faced with two choices: either continue with coal-fired stations or consider developing hydro stations on the Nelson River in the north," Tishinski said. "These were tough engineering decisions, as coal-fired stations were more economical in the short term... Today, we can see that it was a very prudent decision, as coal-fired stations have become obsolete."

Tishinski said what made the choice even tougher was the type of transmission line needed to get the power from the northern generating stations to southern Manitoba were "in their infancy stage... It hadn’t been built anywhere in the world. Len had to dialogue with manufacturers and had to make some hard decisions."

The internal debates at the utility were at every level, Tishinski said.

"By the early ’60s, the executive of Manitoba Hydro realized they would need another source of generation after Grand Rapids. You needed seven or eight years’ lead time to build... They had a choice of either going with a coal-fired plant, like we had in Selkirk and Brandon, or going to the Nelson River 500 miles north in the wilderness," he said.

"They made the gutsy decision to go north. And Len was a driving force on the executive committee."

Bateman’s vision not only filled the province’s pockets, but didn’t empty ratepayers’ wallets.

"It has been said that a corporation thrives long after the CEO is gone. And Hydro did thrive... During a 10-year period, from the early 1990s through the 2000s, Hydro rightly boasted that extra provincial revenues reached $6 billion... Manitobans enjoyed the lowest rates on the North America continent for a period of 50 years — there was never a shortage of power and the lights never went out," Tishinski said.

"He leaves behind the backbone of Manitoba Hydro for the next 100 years."

Bateman began his electrical career at Winnipeg Hydro, as a junior electrical engineer in 1942. He rose through the ranks to general superintendent in charge of power production by the time he left in 1956.

He started at the then-Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board as the systems planning engineer in charge of planning for northern hydro resources. He became director of production when MHEB amalgamated with the Manitoba Power Commission in 1961.

He was appointed Hydro chairman and CEO in 1972.

Even when Bateman retired in 1979, he really didn’t retire. He founded Bateman and Associates consulting company, and advised clients around the world about high-voltage direct current.

Bateman was honoured with the Order of Manitoba in 2003, and the Order of Canada in 2016.

"Leonard Bateman’s... biggest contribution is perhaps lesser well-known: he was responsible for Manitoba Hydro’s first interconnection negotiations with American utilities in the late 1960s," said Jay Grewal, president and CEO of Manitoba Hydro.

"Today, these transmission connections allow Manitoba Hydro to annually sell hundreds of millions of dollars of surplus renewable energy to other markets, to the benefit of every Manitoban. They also contribute to enhanced energy reliability and security for customers on both sides of the border," Grewal said.

"Mr. Bateman was a true visionary."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca