Manitoba Hydro spokesman Glenn Schneider said the report should put the idea of an underwater transmission cable to rest for the foreseeable future.

This misstatement of the report's findings, that the underwater/underground cable issue was dead, raised the ire of study co-author Dr. John Ryan. "I can say categorically that our report did nothing of the kind. Unfortunately, for some inexplicable reason, it is Manitoba Hydro's public relations department that contributed to this misconception," stated Ryan, a long-time proponent of an underwater and/or underground electrical transmission.

"Moreover, if an overhead line were to be built for Bipole IV, it would probably have to be placed right along the Saskatchewan border, making it so long and costly that an underwater cable route could be competitive in cost, especially considering its advantages," added Ryan.