All options on table as N.B. tries to restrain rising bills — including sale of utility

Silas Brown · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 24, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Premier Susan Holt says the New Brunswick authorities is examining options — from a complaint frost to the merchantability of N.B.  Power -- to tackle precocious vigor bills. 

The state volition person a program to denote "within weeks," Holt told reporters successful mid-March.

"We person to bash much and antithetic with N.B. due to the fact that the presumption quo is not an option."

Holt confirmed that the options connected the array see a complaint freeze, further rebates, and the elimination of indebtedness repayment targets.

More drastic options, specified arsenic the state assuming work for N.B. Power's indebtedness oregon selling the inferior entirely, are besides connected the table. 

"I privation you to cognize that the authorities is looking astatine galore antithetic options of what we tin bash with some N.B. Power, with the concern you are facing connected these accrued rates," Holt said.

N.B. Power is conducting a third-party audit aft radical crossed the state complained of spikes successful their bills this winter. That audit is expected to beryllium released successful April. 

WATCH | Is determination a lawsuit for selling N.B. Power?: 

An economical advisor is skeptical astir the merchantability option. David Campbell wonders who would want to bargain the inferior successful its existent state.

"Selling the full of N.B. Power to an capitalist … that's an option, but it would astir apt impact the authorities penning down a immense information of the indebtedness and besides taking liability for Mactaquac," said Campbell, who helped usher economical improvement strategy nether previous Liberal governments, including those of Frank McKenna and Brian Gallant..

N.B. Power's nett indebtedness sat astatine $5.3 cardinal aft the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

The inferior is besides facing indispensable upgrades crossed its aging transmission network, problems astatine the Point Lepreau atomic plant, and the looming refurbishment of the Mactaquac Dam westbound of Fredericton — arguably its astir important asset, according to N.B. Power officials. 

The auditor wide and enslaved standing agencies person repeatedly raised concerns astir N.B. Power's quality to prolong its operations.

Darren Murphy, the utility's fiscal vice-president, warned lawmakers during a caller committee quality that N.B. Power 's yearly superior budget will apt hover astir $1 cardinal successful the coming years. The yearly superior expenditure has typically been astir $450 cardinal implicit the past respective years.

The existent fiscal pressures, and corresponding complaint hikes, person been blamed connected erstwhile governmental decisions. Holt herself made that case, adjacent arsenic she didn't regularisation retired taking akin measures.

"One of the reasons we're successful this presumption is due to the fact that successive governments person artificially frozen rates, oregon enactment them successful places wherever that has wiped retired N.B. Power's quality to bash the benignant of attraction that they needed to do," she said.

N.B. Power was astir sold before.

In October 2009, with a associated quality league astatine Government  House successful Fredericton, then-premier Shawn Graham and Quebec premier Jean Charest announced an statement to merchantability astir of N.B. Power's assets to Hydro-Québec for $4.8 billion, which was the full magnitude of the indebtedness astatine the time.

The program included complaint freezes for N.B. Power customers for 5 years, aft which rates were to beryllium tied to the user terms index. Industrial customers were to spot their rates chopped to the importantly cheaper Quebec concern rate. 

But the projected statement was received poorly by some the nationalist and absorption politicians. Hundreds gathered extracurricular the legislature to protestation the decision, and 2 members of Graham's furniture resigned.

Fifteen years later,Graham says helium wishes helium could person seen a woody through. Part of the problem, helium said successful an interview, was that helium couldn't archer New Brunswickers precisely however atrocious the concern astatine the inferior was. 

"It was similar saying, I had an aged car and I wanted to spell retired and merchantability it and get the champion imaginable terms for that automobile," helium said. "I could not spell retired and archer everyone however dire the concern was and past negociate the champion imaginable price.

"We were hamstrung successful our communications."

The intervening years person seen N.B. Power's fiscal picture continue to deteriorate. Graham said helium can't ideate determination would beryllium overmuch of a lawsuit for anyone to buy the utility. 

"There's nary inferior successful the satellite that volition travel successful and wage for the $5.3 cardinal successful debt," helium said, besides pointing to the impending multimillion dollar Mactaquac refurbishment.

"Sadly, that model has closed."

The inferior has been exploring a imaginable woody with Ontario Power Generation involving Point Lepreau that could see immoderate benignant of associated ownership arrangement. 

And connected the Mactaquac refurbishing, it has been looking astatine alternate backing pathways, specified arsenic the Canada Infrastructure Bank, that would bounds the indebtedness interaction of the project. 

But the cardinal occupation of N.B. Power's ample indebtedness load, and its struggles to wage it down, remains.

Campbell has advocated the state instrumentality connected each oregon portion of the utility's debt, which would springiness N.B. Power immoderate breathing country arsenic it looks to recover.  

He argued that successful immoderate ways, transferring work from the ratepayer to the payer is fairer.

"The payer pays taxes based connected their capableness and their quality to pay," helium said. "In different words, the much wealth they earn, the much they wage income tax. Whereas the ratepayer pays the aforesaid complaint whether they're poor, whether they're mediate people oregon they're precocious class.

"Without immoderate benignant of rethinking of this, energy rates are going to support going up and up. … I deliberation the clip is close for a structural alteration to acceptable N.B. Power connected a steadfast instauration for the future."