Maria Neufeld, P.Eng., MBA

Manitoba Hydro

Director, Transmission Operations and Maintenance

Maria Neufeld is an innovative, energetic and solutions oriented professional engineer. Maria leads a highly skilled team comprised of six departments responsible for the operations, maintenance, testing, refurbishment and emergency response of equipment in transmission, distribution, and HVDC converter stations, and transmission lines greater than 100 kV across the province on Manitoba from Churchill to US border, from the Saskatchewan Border to the Ontario Border. Maria is passionate about diversity and inclusion. Maria is the 2021 recipient of the Judith Weiszmann Women in Engineering Champion Award, recognized by the Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba as a role model for her leadership in the workplace, in the engineering community, and in the industry both locally and internationally and her work to recruit and retain more women in engineering. Maria co-chairs the industry coalition and is a part of the Engineering Changes Lives steering committee for the Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba, both established to remove barriers that impact diversity in Science Technology Engineering and Math. Maria leads the 30 by 30 task force at Manitoba Hydro. Through her professional and volunteer works, she has greatly inspired her colleagues, other engineers, and young people to see their potential, trust themselves, dream bigger, and do better. Maria graduated with a Bachelors of Electrical Engineering from the Price Faculty of Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration from the Asper School of Business. Maria has held various Engineering and Leadership roles at Manitoba Hydro. Maria has a proven ability to lead, coach and mentor.

Manitoba Hydro is a provincial Crown Corporation and an integrated electricity and natural gas distribution utility serving customers in the province of Manitoba.  We have $29.3 B in assets to serve 600,991 electric customers, 289, 364 natural gas customers and service an area of 650,000km2. We have 5,608 MW of electricity capability, 11, 045 km of transmission lines and 75,320 km of distribution lines. We have 10, 673 km of natural gas lines serving 132 communities. More than 96% of the electricity we produce is clean, renewable power generated at 15 hydroelectric generating stations on the Nelson, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, Burntwood and Laurie rivers.