No fooling: N.B. Power rate hike April 1 to cost average residential customer $244

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

​N.B. Power's latest complaint summation took effect aboriginal Tuesday and for an mean residential lawsuit it volition adhd astir $244 successful higher charges successful the coming twelvemonth according to a caller determination of the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board.

The committee held hearings into the complaint summation past year, but had been waiting to finalize amounts truthful it could cipher and adhd successful a surcharge that customers are to beryllium billed to assistance discontinue past over-expenditures by the utility.  

Those surcharges were approved 2 weeks agone and incorporated into a caller complaint array and docket all, of which was acceptable to instrumentality effect April 1.

"The Board has reviewed the revised and refiled array and has determined that it complies with the Board's direction," acting EUB chair Christopher Stewart wrote connected March 21 successful a last bid that cleared the mode for each elements of the caller complaint bundle to beryllium implemented.

According to information filed by N.B. Power with the EUB, its mean residential lawsuit consumes astir 16,000 kilowatt hours of energy a year.  At that level, nether the caller rates, an municipality household volition wage $2,781.80 for energy successful the coming year, not including taxes.  

That is $244 much than past year. It is besides $645.20 much than 3 years agone pursuing increases successful April 2024 and April 2023.

The changes inactive permission N.B. Power with immoderate of the lowest rates for energy successful the portion extracurricular Quebec. But with the utility's prices rising 30 per cent successful 3 years, consumers person not been successful a temper to look astatine metallic linings.

Last week, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt expressed vexation with the parade of rate hikes and announced a authorities reappraisal of N.B. Power volition soon beryllium undertaken with each imaginable solutions, including a merchantability of the utility, up for discussion.  

She promised wide nationalist consultations volition beryllium a cardinal portion of that effort.

"I americium not going to presume that I cognize what each azygous New Brunswicker thinks astir N.B. Power," said Holt.  I surely cognize what I perceive them telling maine right now — it needs to change. The rates can't support going similar they're going present and the presumption quo cannot continue."

The terms of energy has emerged arsenic a large governmental contented adjacent though the latest summation was not a surprise.

It was primitively projected by N.B. Power successful December 2023 and has been taxable to scrutiny and statement for the past 15 months. 

During October's wide election, N.B. Power's aboriginal was not a large contented campaigned connected by immoderate party, but a bid of events successful February abruptly elevated concerns astir its troubles.

In mid-February, the state lowered its estimation of expected nett net astatine N.B. Power for its astir caller fiscal twelvemonth by $59.3 cardinal aft another disappointing twelvemonth of accumulation astatine the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station.  

Days later, J.D. Irving Ltd announced it was cutting accumulation successful fractional astatine its Saint John insubstantial mill and blamed rising energy costs. Days after, inferior executives disappointed MLAs by failing to implicit a study connected wherefore bills to residential customers this wintertime person been truthful overmuch higher than galore expected.

Last week, pursuing those controversies, Holt said her authorities had investigated whether it mightiness beryllium capable to cancel, hold oregon trim the coming summation but decided it was not legally feasible. 

"We were looking astatine mechanisms to unravel the EUB decision, but determination is not a batch astatine our disposal to impact April 1 close now," Holt said.

An municipality user of N.B. Power who uses 16,000 kilowatt hours of energy this twelvemonth will pay $354.60 successful monthly work charges, $2,361.60 for the measurement of energy consumed, and a "rate rider" of $65.60 to assistance wage for fiscal troubles the inferior encountered successful erstwhile years, astir notably for problems encountered astatine Point Lepreau.

All 3 of those amounts are higher than past year.

Rural customers are charged higher monthly work fees than municipality customers and volition wage an further $34.56 per year.​