Moncton woman wants accountability from premier, N.B. Power over sky-high electric bills

Katelin Belliveau · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

When Susan Martin checked the latest power measure for a tiny location she rents retired successful Moncton, she couldn't judge what she was seeing.

According to N.B. Power, the home consumed 1,700 kilowatts of vigor successful February of past year, she said.

This February, it was much than triple that magnitude — closer to 5,200 kilowatts.

Martin's concerns travel arsenic N.B. Power is conducting a third-party audit of its smart-meter program, billing strategy and complaints of precocious powerfulness bills.

"Those are unexplainable variances," said Martin, of the caller measure for her property.

WATCH | 'That is simply a skyrocketed magnitude of consumption':

She said successful 2024, a household of 3 were living successful the location and did laundry everyday. This year, a azygous pistillate is renting the place and does laundry acold little regularly.

"I don't cognize however malicious it is, but I bash cognize determination is an contented with the mode the meters read and cipher our kilowatt usage related to inflated bills."

Martin said it raises uncertainty that inflation, longer billing periods, complaint hikes and colder winters are to blasted for the higher powerfulness bills galore New Brunswickers are seeing.

She believes it's each astir skyrocketing depletion readings.

45 bills collected successful 12 hours

N.B. Power CEO Lori Clarke promised the results of a third-party audit astatine the extremity of February, but aboriginal said the inferior needed much time, and that of the 20 bills reviewed truthful far, determination were nary issues. She said the study wouldn't beryllium acceptable until April.

• N.B. Power sees 'no issues' with bills truthful far, but can't explicate anomalies

Martin is amazed it's taking truthful agelong for the inferior to cod and reappraisal inferior bills because it took her conscionable 12 hours to cod astir 45 bills from residential customers, aft she posted about it connected Facebook.

She accumulated astir 30 from people who had been switched to the utility's new smart-meter system, and astir of those showed double the kilowatt usage successful February compared to the erstwhile year.

One connection showed a leap from 599 kilowatts to 1,542, portion different showed a much than 1,200 kilowatt increase, from 3,019 to 4,245.

Martin said the bills she collected from radical who person not made the alteration to a astute meter tell a antithetic story.

She pointed to a measure that went from 1,800 kilowatts last February to 2,300 this twelvemonth — connected a regular meter. 

"That aligns with the explainable variance that N.B. Power is talking about," Martin said. "They went from 28 billing days to 30 and it was a small colder."

N.B. Power declined an interrogation but said successful an emailed connection that 1 of the astir communal causes for measure increases is utmost weather.

"This winter, New Brunswick temperatures were colder, connected average, than past year, which could pb to immoderate customers seeing an summation successful their wide vigor use," wrote D'Arcy Walsh, a communications serviceman with the utility.

Ratepayers started pointing retired what they say are higher than mean bills successful December.

Premier Susan Holt announced earlier this period that each options are connected the array arsenic the province looks astatine ways to curb rising bills.

Most recently, she promised consultations crossed the state to get New Brunswickers' ideas on the aboriginal of the utility. She said her squad is besides looking astatine ways to support powerfulness rates much affordable portion dealing with the corporation's $5-billion debt.

• Premier promises provincewide consultation connected aboriginal of N.B. Power

N.B. Power raised residential rates by 13 per cent this twelvemonth and has plans to hike them again, by 9 per cent, successful April.

Martin said she agrees with rate increases if they lead to better infrastructure and work from the utility.

"What I americium not successful statement with is the mysterious usage of kilowatts."

Consumption increased despite ratio upgrades

Carla Smith of Moncton said her powerfulness measure went up by an mean of 34 kilowatts per time successful February compared to past year, amounting to a quality of $200.

This hike successful usage came aft she and her hubby spent astir $12,000 successful an effort to save wealth connected their powerfulness bill.

She said they had their home assessed done N.B. Power's Total Home Energy Savings Program. They besides person a smart-meter.

In October, they replaced each of their windows and doors arsenic recommended in the appraisal study they received.

"I'd emotion for them to explicate to maine however I did each this and I'm utilizing more," she said.

"It doesn't adjacent marque consciousness to me."

'We are pushing radical into homelessness'

Martin, who volunteers with respective charities successful Moncton, including the Karing Kitchen crockery kitchen, said she sees how rising powerfulness bills are hurting radical the astir vulnerable.

"I'm watching radical conflict arsenic it is," she said. "People connected disabilities, warfare veterans, elder citizens and radical who are already connected the cusp of homelessness.

"The accent that this would person induced for them implicit the past 4 to 5 months, it indispensable beryllium unreal to woody with connected a regular basis, paying conscionable what you can, knowing the snowball is coming from down you."

• All options connected array arsenic N.B. tries to restrain rising bills — including merchantability of utility

Martin, who said she shared the bills she collected with Premier Holt and respective MLAs, wants to spot the state measurement successful instantly to help.

CBC News reached retired to the Premier's Office for comment and was told successful an email to nonstop immoderate questions to N.B. Power.

"The contiguous reply is for N.B. Power to beryllium held accountable to their ain systems by the authorities enforcing with them immediately, to revert to humanities billing astatine the higher kilowatt price," Martin said.

"Right now, we are the ones carrying that work alternatively of the organization."