Province Passes Law Limiting NS Power Rate Hikes
HALIFAX — The province is stepping in to soften the blow from your power bill this winter.
New legislation will cap how much Nova Scotia Power can ask for things like operations and maintenance. It would limit any increases in those areas to 1.8 percent over two years, and effectively blocks NSP’s 11.6 percent rake hike.
However, these changes do not cover fuel.
Minister Tory Rushton says fuel costs are unavoidable but they can control other areas, like maintenance.
Nova Scotia Power had asked for a 10.2 percent rate hike (not including the cost of fuel) that would happen over three years. As fuel costs went up and 2022 continued without a decision from the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, NSP upped its request to a 13.7 percent hike over two years.
Late last week, the company filed evidence with the board that projected power bills going up by 26 percent over two years, thanks to the rising cost of fuel.
The province’s new legislation caps NSP’s ability to raise rates based on things like maintenance and operations, but not based on the price of fuel. That means rates could still go up significantly.
NS Power Responds
The President and CEO of Nova Scotia Power says the legislation overrides what should be a politically independent process. Peter Gregg says it poses serious risks to future energy needs in the province.
He says $500 million was requested in the rate application to strengthen infrastructure and create 60 new front-line jobs, and the legislation would limit that investment.
Gregg says as Hurricane Fiona made clear, severe storms will keep coming, and putting off the investments until later is not a solution.
He says it would also impede their ability to meet the 80 percent renewable energy target for 2030.
Steve MacArthur is the news director with CKHZ 103.5 in Halifax, a Huddle content partner. With files from Kevin Northup.