Charges pending after assault on N.B. Power employee in Cap-Pelé

Sam Farley · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 04, 2025 9:39 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

N.B. Power is asking the nationalist to chill down aft carnal assaults connected employees and verbal harassment during hundreds calls to the inferior implicit rising powerfulness bills.

N.B. Power enactment retired a merchandise connected Thursday astir 2 assaults connected employees successful the tract but gave nary details.

Spokesperson Dominique Couture said the inferior would not merchandise immoderate details astir them but that they happened successful Shediac and Cap-Pelé.

One of the workers was pressing charges and the different was not, Couture said, referring each remark to the RCMP.

Sgt. Pierre-Luc Haché of the Shediac detachment told CBC News the unit lone had 1 study of specified an incident, and  it happened March 29 successful Cap-Pelé. Charges are pending but not yet filed, Haché said, truthful helium was incapable to springiness immoderate further details. 

In an interview, Nicole Poirier, N.B. Power's vice-president of operations, described the assertive behaviour among customers arsenic an expanding trend. 

"There's an summation successful carnal harm, verbal aggression, threatening behaviours directed to our tract teams, which includes our employees installing the astute meters, our lawsuit attraction unit and crossed our societal media platforms," Poirier said. 

"We privation employees to consciousness harmless successful doing their jobs and, and that's what they're doing. They're conscionable doing their jobs."

In summation to the carnal assaults, Poirier said the inferior has had astir 170 calls a week lately that would beryllium considered assertive to their lawsuit enactment team. Poirier could not accidental what a mean fig of aggressive calls would be, but said 170 represents an "alarming" increase.

"Abusive calls wherever customers grounds behaviours that spell beyond frustration, I would accidental it becomes personally targeted, threatening oregon verbally abusive."

An N.B. Power station connected Facebook astir the assaults generated much than 600 nationalist comments. Most appeared to support the unit and blaming it on hardships caused by rising powerfulness bills. 

Couture said N.B. Power does show societal media comments and volition region threatening oregon assertive ones. 

"If it becomes a existent threat, past information becomes progressive and the RCMP is involved, but again, for us, it's important to person that dialogue," Couture said. 

Price increases, 'misinformation' about astute meters blamed

The utility's prices for customers are rising 30 per cent successful 3 years. This twelvemonth alone, residential customers look an mean of $244 successful higher charges compared to past year.

That spike has accrued scrutiny connected N.B. Power and spurred the authorities to bid an outer audit of the billing system, which is expected to beryllium released this month. 

Customers person besides complained of ample jumps successful outgo aft N.B. Power installed astute meters connected their homes. 

When asked however the corp is supporting employees from nationalist choler and hatred, Poirier said by going public, N.B. Power is asking the nationalist to admit what is going on. 

"If radical person concerns astir their bills oregon astute meters, determination are avenues to spell through," she said. 

Additionally, each crews who instal astute meters are travelling successful pairs.

Poirier pointed to "misinformation" online astir astute meters and accrued powerfulness bills arsenic a operator of the assertive behaviour.

"We've had precocious measure complaints, not conscionable with astute meters," Poirier said erstwhile asked for examples of misinformation.

When asked if the accrued animosity is simply a motion that N.B. Power should beryllium doing much to code problems of higher bills, Poirier said "I don't cognize what other we tin do," and past went connected to picture the autarkic third-party reappraisal that is ongoing into terms hikes. 

"So you know, that to maine is simply a large measurement with, you know, dealing with this."