Nuclear energy boss is leaving N.B. Power, MLAs told in sudden announcement
As vice-president nuclear, Brett Plummer has overseen operations at Point Lepreau since 2015
"I'll be the new chief nuclear officer at the end of September," Clark told Liberal MLA Keith Chiasson who asked about Plummer's status.
"Mr. Plummer's contract with N.B. Power will be done at the end of September."
Clark did not elaborate on what led to the departure or who initiated it but made it clear N.B. Power is moving on.
"Any plans to renew his contract?" asked Chiasson.
"No," replied Clark.
The Point Lepreau nuclear station has just come through its worst operational year since coming out of refurbishment in 2012. (Submitted by NB Power)
A request to N.B. Power to speak with Plummer about his departure was not immediately answered.
An American who received his training as a nuclear operator in the U.S. navy, Plummer was hired in 2015 to try to sort out operational problems at Lepreau.
The nuclear plant failed to perform as hoped following a refurbishment that ended in 2012 and was three years behind schedule and $1 billion over budget. It suffered numerous breakdowns and maintenance problems that began to drag on N.B. Power's finances almost immediately.
N.B. Power hoped Plummer could fix that track record, and it paid top dollar for his expertise.
He was the highest paid employee at N.B. Power during his eight years, earning more than all three presidents he served under. Earlier this year, the utility revealed he was being paid more than $100,000 per month in 2023.
N.B.
Power has hired three operators from the nuclear division of Ontario
Power Generation to help run Lepreau in the short term. (CBC)
During Plummer's term, N.B. Power invested several hundred million more dollars to try to improve Lepreau's performance, but difficulties have persisted.
Last year was its worst yet since refurbishment, with the plant operating at just 57 per cent of its annual production capacity.
That shortfall included a mid-winter breakdown in December that lasted more than a month and forced N.B. Power to buy replacement electricity in the open market at record prices.
By the end of the year the utility's debt had ballooned $468 million to $5.4 billion, largely because of downtime and repairs at Lepreau.
Clark, an accountant by training, said she will serve as chief nuclear officer but other qualified people will be responsible for overseeing plant operations.
She confirmed that three nuclear operators from Ontario Power Generation's nuclear division have been hired under contract for the next three years to run Lepreau and are already in their jobs.
The
Point Lepreau plant is a moneymaker for N.B. Power when operating but a
financial drain when it sits idle. N.B. Power has struggled for more
than a decade to cut the number of Lepreau's down days. (Submitted NB Power)
She said N.B. Power continues to negotiate with OPG on a possible joint arrangement to run Point Lepreau.
"A partnership could range from a sharing of resources or it could be a part ownership in the station," said Clark.
"Being able to share resources with OPG or another nuclear operator would help us get the plant to the overall reliability levels that are acceptable to us."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Why is it that I am still laughing?
David Amos
Oh My My
David Amos
Reply to David Amos
At least his dismissal saves us over a million loonies a year
"Earlier this year, the utility revealed he was being paid more than $100,000 per month in 2023."
Yet NB Power filed a complaint in court against the EUB this summer because they did not like their decision???
So how much is this unqualified individual going to get paid?
Murray Brown
Apparently... Blaine Higgs didn't like him. If he did, he wouldn't be gone.
Reply to Murray Brown
True
Reply to Murray Brown
Could be that this true expert's needed somewhere else.
Jack Straw
NB Power really is a disgrace. There is no other way to put it. Pt Lepreau is such a money put that the next 10 generations will still be paying for it. They should change their name to NB Incompetence.
Rosco holt
Reply to Jack Straw
The incompetence in NBPower comes from government appointing incompetent individuals to run it.
David Webb
Reply to Rosco holt
Did you happen to apply for one of the Board of Director positions that were advertised earlier this year?
David Amos
Reply to David Webb
Years ago I applied to sit on the EUB but they hired their ex chair back instead However he did not last long after we met again
David Amos
Reply to David Amos
The only one who remains on the board since I first Intervened is Herron and everybody knows I ran against him in 2004
David Amos
Reply to Jack Straw
Oh So True
David Amos
Reply to Rosco holt
Yup
1.3M salary (double what it was in 2017) to run a facility at 55% capacity for 2022. Worst managed company in the Maritimes, if not all of Canada.
Given NB Power's record, watch for a pay-out package going to Mr. Plummer that any average NB citizen Joe could easily retire on.
Josh Albert
Reply to Christine Martinez
People make comments like this on cbc forums all the time but never seem to actually do any due diligence in comparing NBP to NSPI or MECL. Look at NBP electricity prices compared to Nova Scotia or PEI. Look at NBP reliability compared to NSPI or MECL. There are trade offs with government utilities but at the end of the day I think most of us only care about cheap and reliable power. For a resource poor province and compared to maritimes NBP is not so bad.
David MacDonald
Reply to Christine Martinez
Unfortunately it took to long.. no results.. or plan it seems totally corporate responsibility. sleeping at the switch….
Rosco holt
Reply to Josh Albert
Are power companies other provinces have to buy and sell electricity at a lost due to government subsidizing a profitable industry?
Josh Albert
Reply to Rosco holt
Me and you are consumers of power, and personally I want the cheapest power I can get. NBP will have to figure out how to be profitable but in the meantime, NB residents will pay less than we otherwise would
David Amos
Reply to Josh Albert
"NBP is not so bad"
Why is it suing the EUB???
David Amos
Reply to Josh Albert
"NB residents will pay less than we otherwise would"
Why do I bother intervening in the EUB hearings?
Quebec Hydro is enormously profitable, has very reliable power and the lowest power rates in the country. I wish they had bought NB Power.
And David, that’s awesome you want to hold NBP accountable, every NB citizen thanks you. New Brunswickers should hold NBP accountable. But back to original post, be careful what you wish for. Compared to the other utility companies in Maritimes, NB has far cheaper and more reliable power. It can get a lot worse.
Federal carbon charges levied on N.B. Power have been returned, utility concedes
Burning coal and oil has also lessened under the federal policy, CEO tells MLAs
N.B. Power officials appearing before a committee of MLAs on Friday were asked about how federal carbon charges are harming the utility.
But instead of pointing to harm, the officials said the policy has caused N.B. Power to lower emissions and help fund energy conservation and conversion programs for customers.
N.B. Power president Lori Clark said carbon charges it has paid since 2019, mostly on emissions from two large oil and coal-burning generating stations in Belledune and Saint John, have been returned to the utility to finance heat pump, insulation and other programs it runs for customers.
"A lot of that money is being recycled back to allow us to help New Brunswickers with their electricity bills," she told the public accounts committee of the legislature.
N.B. Power is planning to spend up to $118 million this year on a variety of programs to help provincial businesses and individuals lower their electricity consumption.
This is almost five times what it spent four years ago. Much of that money is being supplied from carbon charges collected and redirected by both the federal and provincial governments, including charges N.B. Power itself has had to pay.
N.B.
Power president Lori Clark and vice presidents Brad Coady, left, and
Darren Murphy appeared before the public accounts committee. (New Brunswick Legislative Assembly)
The utility views what it spends on customer-efficiency programs as a benefit because lower electricity usage from customers helps soften expensive peak demands on its system during the winter season.
Last winter, N.B. Power experienced the largest single demand load in history, 3,442 megawatts, during a cold snap on Feb. 4.
Maintaining generating infrastructure to serve those peak events is costly. Helping customers use less power, rather than build more generating capacity, is seen by N.B. Power as a cost-effective way to manage its own current and future expenses.
Jeff Carr, the Progressive Conservative MLA for New Maryland-Sunbury, asked how much in carbon charges N.B. Power has had to pay on its generators since 2019 and where that money goes.
N.B.
Power offers some homeowners free mini-split heat pumps and upgraded
insulation with free installation for both. Some of the money for that
comes from federal carbon charges the utility paid and got back. (Danny Arsenault/CBC)
N.B. Power's vice-president of business development, Brad Coady, estimated the bill will have reached $31.9 million by the end of 2023. However, everything paid to Ottawa has come back to the utility.
"A lot of the money we receive for energy efficiency stemming from federal support in that area is where that money is coming back," said Coady.
"We do not receive a rebate directly to N.B. Power but this is how we see the rebate showing up."
In the first two years, carbon charges on N.B. Power were collected by Ottawa, and in the last three years New Brunswick has run its own system. Money collected provincially also flows back to the utility after being deposited in the province's Climate Change Fund, according to Coady.
The vast majority of carbon charges N.B. Power has paid involve generation at the company's coal-fired generating station in Belledune and the Coleson Cove oil-fired station in Saint John.
A natural gas generating station, also in Saint John, has so far been efficient enough to avoid charges.
In addition to what N.B. Power has paid being returned, Clark acknowledged the federal policy has also caused the utility to reduce the burning of coal and oil to keep taxable greenhouse gas emissions down.
"When you think about how we dispatch our units we dispatch on economics," said Clark.
"As the carbon tax goes up and gets added to those units, then they are unlikely to get dispatched as low in the order."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tuesday, 4 April 2023
Re: Matter 529 - NB Power Rate Design Even more Interesting news from CBC
Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Development Mike Holland wasn't well...
N.B. Power CEO says it's too early to commit to EUB oversight of Lepreau deal
Lori Clark says utility can’t stick with status quo, defends VP’s $1.3 million salary
Lori Clark says the Crown corporation is looking at a range of options for how Ontario Power Generation might be able to run Lepreau better.
One of them could be "a separate entity" co-owned by the two utilities to manage the plant, allowing them to share profits and financial risk.
Clark told CBC's Information Morning Fredericton it's too early to say whether the EUB, the province's independent regulator, would get to examine such an arrangement.
"That would be something that obviously would be important in understanding as we go forward. But we're just not at that stage of of the discussions yet."
A subsidiary would lead to more private process
She added she expects an agreement would be scrutinized by the EUB, "but I can't speculate at this point in time."
Louise Comeau of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick said last week that N.B. Power may use a new law allowing it to set up subsidiaries if it strikes a deal with the Ontario corporation.
The subsidiary could then avoid the kind of detailed hearings, disclosures and filing of financial documents that N.B. Power must go through when it's seeking a power rate increase or planning a major project, Comeau said.
Clark said she met with Comeau this week and told her that it's too early to say for sure.
"We need to understand what a potential partnership could look like and then we talk about how we could execute on that."
Louise
Comeau, director of climate change and energy solutions at the
Conservation Council of New Brunswick, said N.B. Power may use a new law
allowing it to set up subsidiaries if it strikes a deal with the
Ontario utility. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
The province has already shielded the potential $3 billion cost of the proposed refurbishment of the Mactaquac hydro dam from EUB oversight.
Clark said the goal of any deal with Ontario Power Generation is for Point Lepreau to operate better and avoid the kind of costly shutdowns it has seen recently.
"Any improvement in reliability of the station would be an overall benefit to N.B. Power customers, she said.
"The utility's debt could be reduced, which would reduce interest costs, which would have a downward impact on rates."
Lepreau outage hurt projected profit
The plant has had a series of problems since a $2.4 billion refurbishment wrapped up in 2012.
As of January, the plant had achieved only 55 per cent capacity for 2022-23, according to N.B. Power's filings with the Energy and Utilities Board.
That includes a 35-day outage that began Dec. 15 and stretched into January, wiping out all of the utility's projected profit for this year.
The Ontario utility has a large fleet of nuclear reactors, giving it more experience dealing with shutdowns.
"If we could have some of that expertise here that could help us with our outages, planning the outages and executing the outages, then the plant is down for a shorter period of time and the reliability is higher," Clark said.
Clark took over as interim CEO of N.B. Power last year and was confirmed in the job last month.
Lori Clark, acting N.B. Power CEO, said it's too early to know if a deal may be possible with OPG. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
She said the status quo is not an option for the utility, which carries a debt of more than $5 billion.
"New Brunswickers have been asking for a change. So I think it's incumbent on the leadership at N.B. Power, and the board, and government to pursue all options and explore them."
That could include giving up direct ownership and management of some power generation so that outside companies absorb more of the cost and the financial risk.
"We may not be the 100 per cent owner of those assets," she said.
Clark pointed out that's the model the utility is using for wind generation and small modular nuclear reactors, and she wouldn't rule it out for the Mactaquac Dam and the Belledule coal-fired plant.
She also defended the $1.3 million salary of Brett Plummer, N.B. Power's vice-president nuclear.
Vice-president made things better
Opposition MLAs questioned last week why he's being paid so well when the nuclear plant he's responsible for has performed so poorly and needs outside help.
Clark said Plummer improved Lepreau's operations after he was hired in 2015, and recent problems "have been primarily on the what I would call the conventional side, not on the nuclear side of the plant."
Lepreau "is an older plant that does need to have some significant investment going forward" to help it run more reliably, she said, and that's where Ontario Power Generation could be a partner.
A key calculation for any Lepreau deal will be whether whatever N.B. Power pays to the Ontario utility would cost less than the risk of continuing to go it alone at Point Lepreau.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Information Morning Fredericton
Good morning,
NB Power has transferred its 2022 Rate Design Application (Round 2) interrogatory responses to the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board's secure FTP site, in accordance with the approved schedule for this Matter.
In addition to the documents transferred via FTP, please find the following documents attached to this email:
1. IR responses (Round 2) for each of Board staff, Public Intervener, David Amos, J.D. Irving Limited, and Utilities Municipal
2. Master List of Filing Documents
In order to access the filed documents please visit the following site using the log-in information provided below:
FTP site: https://dtfiledrop.cirrus9.net/login.html<https://dtfiledrop.cirrus9.net/login.html>
Account: Intervener5
Password:
Per normal practice, responses containing information over which NB Power is claiming confidentiality have been uploaded to a separate FTP site. All confidential documents are classified as Confidential Restricted.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to respond to this email.
Kind regards,
Something smells rotten.
Someone perhaps might know the answer.
Re: Matter 529 - NB Power Rate Design Even more Interesting news from CBC
David Amos<david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com> | Tue, Apr 4, 2023 at 4:40 PM |
| To: "Holland, Mike (LEG)" <mike.holland@gnb.ca>, "blaine.higgs" <blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>, "Robert. Jones" <Robert.Jones@cbc.ca> | |
| Cc: "Abigail J. Herrington" <Aherrington@lawsoncreamer.com>, "Mitchell, Kathleen" <Kathleen.Mitchell@nbeub.ca>, "Williams, Richard (OAG/CPG)" <Richard.Williams@gnb.ca>, "ceo@fermenbfarm.ca" <ceo@fermenbfarm.ca>, "louis-philippe.gauthier@cfib.ca" <louis-philippe.gauthier@cfib.ca>, "frederic.gionet@cfib.ca" <frederic.gionet@cfib.ca>, "Ron.marcolin@cme-mec.ca" <Ron.marcolin@cme-mec.ca>, "Sollows, David (DNRED/MRNDE)" <David.Sollows@gnb.ca>, "hanrahan.dion@jdirving.com" <hanrahan.dion@jdirving.com>, "nrubin@stewartmckelvey.com" <nrubin@stewartmckelvey.com>, "coneil@stewartmckelvey.com" <coneil@stewartmckelvey.com>, "lmclements@stewartmckelvey.com" <lmclements@stewartmckelvey.com>, "pbowman@bowmaneconomics.ca" <pbowman@bowmaneconomics.ca>, "brudderham@stewartmckelvey.com" <brudderham@stewartmckelvey.com>, "JohnFurey@fureylegal.com" <JohnFurey@fureylegal.com>, "jpetrie@nbpower.com" <jpetrie@nbpower.com>, "NBPRegulatory@nbpower.com" <NBPRegulatory@nbpower.com>, "lgordon@nbpower.com" <lgordon@nbpower.com>, "SWaycott@nbpower.com" <SWaycott@nbpower.com>, "George.Porter@nbpower.com" <George.Porter@nbpower.com>, "bcrawford@nbpower.com" <bcrawford@nbpower.com>, Veronique Otis <Veronique.Otis@nbeub.ca>, "Young, Dave" <Dave.Young@nbeub.ca>, NBEUB/CESPNB <General@nbeub.ca>, "Colwell, Susan" <Susan.Colwell@nbeub.ca>, "bhavumaki@synapse-energy.com" <bhavumaki@synapse-energy.com>, "mwhited@synapse-energy.com" <mwhited@synapse-energy.com>, "prhodes@synapse-energy.com" <prhodes@synapse-energy.com>, "alawton@synapse-energy.com" <alawton@synapse-energy.com>, "jwilson@resourceinsight.com" <jwilson@resourceinsight.com>, "pchernick@resourceinsight.com" <pchernick@resourceinsight.com>, Melissa Curran <Melissa.Curran@nbeub.ca>, "rdk@indecon.com" <rdk@indecon.com>, "tammy.grieve@mcinnescooper.com" <tammy.grieve@mcinnescooper.com>, "paul.black@twinriverspaper.com" <paul.black@twinriverspaper.com>, Len Hoyt <Len.Hoyt@mcinnescooper.com>, "tyler.rajeski@twinriverspaper.com" <tyler.rajeski@twinriverspaper.com>, "darcy.ouellette@twinriverspaper.com" <darcy.ouellette@twinriverspaper.com>, "dan.murphy@umnb.ca" <dan.murphy@umnb.ca>, "jeff.garrett@sjenergy.com" <jeff.garrett@sjenergy.com>, "shelley.wood@sjenergy.com" <shelley.wood@sjenergy.com>, "dan.dionne@perth-andover.com" <dan.dionne@perth-andover.com>, "pierreroy@edmundston.ca" <pierreroy@edmundston.ca>, "ryan.mitchell@sjenergy.com" <ryan.mitchell@sjenergy.com>, "sstoll@stollprofcorp.com" <sstoll@stollprofcorp.com>, "pzarnett@bdrenergy.com" <pzarnett@bdrenergy.com> | |
https://davidraymondamos3. Tuesday, 4 April 2023 Re: Matter 529 - NB Power Rate Design Even more Interesting news from CBC | |
N.B. Power VP's salary closer to $1.3M, utility acknowledges
Spokesperson says lower figure was ‘honest mistake’ amid scrutiny of Brett Plummer’s pay
Utility spokesperson Dominique Couture said it was "an honest mistake" when the utility provided a much lower figure last Friday, amid controversy over Brett Plummer's position.
Plummer is, in fact, earning between $975,000 and $999,000 US, Couture said.
That's more than $1.3 million Cdn based on the current exchange rate.
The
salary of Brett Plummer, N.B. Power's vice-president of nuclear energy,
has come under political scrutiny with the news the utility is talking
to Ontario Power Generation about a role in running Lepreau. (Roger Cosman/CBC)
And it's about double what Plummer was being paid in 2017, despite the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station — his primary responsibility — operating far below capacity.
"It's the juxtaposition between the declining capacity factor at Lepreau and the rising income," said Louse Comeau of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
"The whole point was to have improved performance."
Comeau discovered a figure of $1.2 million Cdn for Plummer's salary in documents N.B. Power filed with the Energy and Utilities Board. That led the utility to acknowledge last week's figure was wrong.
Louise Comeau of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick said Plummer
was hired specifically to get Lepreau back on track. (Rachel Cave/CBC)
Plummer's large large salary has come under political scrutiny with the news that N.B. Power is talking to Ontario Power Generation, a Crown utility, about a role in running Lepreau.
N.B. Power said there could be "some OPG ownership" of Lepreau, though it added the facility as a whole is not for sale.
As of January, the plant had achieved only 55 per cent capacity for 2022-23, according to N.B. Power's filings with the Energy and Utilities Board.
That includes a 35-day outage that began Dec. 15 and stretched into January.
Opposition parties have questioned how Plummer's salary can be justified if Lepreau's operation has been poor enough to warrant looking outside the province for help.
Premier Blaine Higgs suggested last week that the Ontario utility's experience with a fleet of nuclear reactors gives it the ability to get better results than the "ups and downs" Lepreau has experienced.
The plant has had a series of problems since a $2.4-billion refurbishment wrapped up in 2012.
It produced only 90 per cent of the electricity expected of it during the first 7½ years after refurbishment, costing the utility $200 million in electrical production.
Energy
Minister Mike Holland said if Ontario Power is brought in to help
Lepreau, he will want to know 'why everybody that's in their positions
are justified.' (Ed Hunter/CBC)
The shutdown last December wiped out all of the utility's projected profit for this year.
Energy Minister Mike Holland acknowledged last Friday that if Ontario Power Generation is brought in to help Lepreau, "I would be posing the question to the utility: Help me understand why everybody that's in their positions are justified and earning their keep."
N.B. Power said last week that Plummer, an American nuclear engineer with a home in Maine, was earning $675,000 US, a figure it now says was incorrect and that would be the equivalent of around $915,000 Cdn.
Opposition Liberal energy critic Keith Chiasson obtained Plummer's 2022 travel expenses through a right to information request, showing he billed $12,827.94 in living expenses and $15,311.88 in mileage during the year.
Comeau pointed out Plummer was hired specifically to get Lepreau back on track.
"The big concern is that the capacity factor keeps declining [and] the improvements that they think they're making are not working."
She believes a deal with the Ontario corporation could involve the creation of an N.B. Power subsidiary that might remove Lepreau's operations from the regulatory scrutiny of the EUB.
Legislation passed by the Higgs government last year allows the utility to create subsidiaries.
The province has already shielded the potential $3-billion cost of the proposed refurbishment of the Mactaquac hydro dam from EUB oversight.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
"The province has already shielded the potential $3-billion cost of the proposed refurbishment of the Mactaquac hydro dam from EUB oversight."
Re: Matter 529 - NB Power Rate Design Even more Interesting news from CBC
Paul Chernick<pchernick@resourceinsight.com> | Tue, Apr 4, 2023 at 3:52 PM |
| To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com> | |
| Cc: John Wilson <jwilson@resourceinsight.com>, "Abigail J. Herrington" <Aherrington@lawsoncreamer.com>, "Colwell, Susan" <Susan.Colwell@nbeub.ca> | |
https://www.science.org/
Paul Chernick President Resource Insight, Inc. 617-680-5810 (cell) Ontario Can't Do CANDUProvince decides to mothball two homegrown nuclear reactors
TORONTO--Facing a $1.6-billion repair bill, the government of Ontario decided last week to mothball two 540-megawatt Canada Deuterium-Uranium (CANDU) nuclear reactors more than a decade before their projected retirement date. The decision could be a mortal blow for the domestically engineered reactors, whose unique design allows them to be refueled without going off-line. The reactors, manufactured by the government-owned Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), are two of eight located at the Pickering Nuclear Station in the Toronto area. Built in the 1970s, they've been idled since 1997 largely because of thinning in the hundreds of pipes carrying heavy water coolant from the reactor core. Two years ago, three other laid-up Ontario reactors were restarted after refurbishments costing billions of dollars, and their operators now say more repairs are not far off. Some 34 large commercial versions have been built and installed around the world, including 20 in Ontario. Experts point to the corrosive effect of the heavy water coolant as a major culprit, with the reactor's design contributing to the large repair bills. "Just getting at the pipes is fantastically difficult, dangerous, and expensive," says Frank Greening, former head of nuclear cooling systems analysis at Ontario Power Generation (OPG), the government utility that owns all of Ontario's CANDUs. Even for reactors where the coolant feeder pipes haven't yet deteriorated, says John Luxat, president of the Canadian Nuclear Society and OPG's former head of nuclear safety, "the costs of demonstrating [their safety] are becoming a problem." Ken Petrunik, AECL's chief operating officer, says the CANDUs, which cost about $1.5 billion new, "perform well in their early years" and that their ability to refuel on-line has yielded "better performance results than any other reactor type in the world." He downplays the impact of Ontario's decision to mothball two reactors by noting that AECL is only weeks away from launching a sales campaign for an advanced version of the CANDU reactor that will compete with new designs from other countries (Science, 19 August, p. 1168). Still, CANDU's future seems dim. In January the reactor company's U.S. partner, Dominion Resources of Richmond, Virginia, decided to abandon plans to seek a U.S. license for its next-generation CANDU. And in May, Chinese authorities announced that they weren't interested in buying any units beyond the two 700-megawatt units already operating near Shanghai. Related site
From:
Paul Chernick <pchernick@resourceinsight.com
OPG’s record on cost and reliability of its CANDU units have not been encouraging.
From:
David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Ontario utility could become partial owner of Point Lepreau nuclear plant
Premier says after ‘ups and downs’ at Lepreau, deal could lead to better operation of troubled facility
Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Mar 29, 2023 3:45 PM ADT
A concrete building with a squat, round tower sits on the edge of land with rocks and water in the foreground. The Point Lepreau nuclear plant has been plagued by problems since a four-year, $2.4-billion refurbishment project ended in 2012. (Submitted by N.B. Power)
N.B. Power is negotiating with Ontario Power Generation on what's being called "a potential partnership" that could involve a partial ownership stake in Point Lepreau nuclear generating station.
Utility spokesperson Dominique Couture told CBC News an eventual agreement "could include some OPG ownership in the station."
Premier Blaine Higgs confirmed to reporters Wednesday that the Ontario Crown corporation is meeting with officials in the coming weeks to discuss improving the operation of New Brunswick's only nuclear power plant.
"The fact that they run multiple nuclear generators, and we only have one, means they have a level of expertise there. And we've gone through some of the ups and downs of Lepreau, especially in the last few years," he said.
"So how can we get better capacity there? And how can we turn that into a partnership for future generation?"
A portrait of a man with grey hair and glasses, wearing a trench coat, speaking. Premier Blaine Higgs said he thinks a partnership is needed and could be beneficial. (Radio-Canada)
Asked if Point Lepreau could be sold to Ontario Power, Higgs did not rule it out.
"We don't have a plan. I don't know what an operating structure might look like, and the discussions with OPG have been [happening] for years.
"But I think we need to have a partnership, and at the end of the day we can build on that partnership. And I don't know what that looks like."
Point Lepreau has been plagued by problems since a four-year, $2.4-billion refurbishment project ended in 2012.
A December breakdown at the nuclear plant added another $380 million to N.B. Power's accumulated debt, driving it to $5.3 billion and wiped out a projected $45.7-million profit at the utility this year.
All possible options considered, utility says
In a statement, N.B. Power said "the status quo is not an option" for the utility, which is saddled with debt and facing several other costly refurbishments.
"All possible options are being considered as we lay out a path for a very different future that will ensure we have affordable, safe and reliable electricity for our customers and improved financial health," said Couture.
"N.B. Power has successfully utilized partnership models in the past to help resolve long-standing issues and improve performance. This included sharing of key talent, operating experience and industry best practices."
A dam sits at the head of a body of water in winter.
Higgs compared a possible Ontario deal with Hydro-Quebec's role in the proposed Mactaquac dam upgrade. (James West/The Canadian Press)
Higgs also pointed to agreements with other utilities, comparing a possible Ontario Power deal with Hydro-Quebec's role in the proposed $3-billion upgrade of the Mactaquac hydroelectric dam.
"We look to a nuclear operator that's much larger than us, has much more experience than us. Are we afraid to ask? Not on your life." Details still being discussed
The discussions with the Ontario utility were revealed during Question Period in the legislature when Tracadie Liberal MLA Keith Chiasson produced a screen image of an email sent by the Ontario utility's CEO Ken Hartwick.
"As N.B. Power looks for ways to drive to drive performance and value for New Brunswick ratepayers in the production of clean, reliable nuclear power from [Lepreau], we are exploring what benefit may exist from a partnership between the two companies," the email said.
Hartwick wrote that the details were still being discussed but Ontario Power officials would be visiting the Lepreau plant next week.
"The partnership we are building with N.B. Power will be a business relationship made in the best interest of Ontario," he said.
A large grouping of electrical power towers are shown in a forested area. Higgs told reporters an agreement with Ontario Power would also help the two provinces avoid competing with each other in the field of small modular nuclear reactors. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
In a statement to CBC News, Ontario Power spokesperson Neal Kelly repeated some passages from the email and said any partnership would be "made in the best interests of Ontario and New Brunswick."
Chiasson said he's not necessarily against the Ontario utility playing a role at Lepreau, but the government should be transparent about it.
"There's nothing wrong with that," he said. "If there is negotiating going on with OPG, we should know."
Green Leader David Coon said the argument that Ontario Power could help run Lepreau better was curious because N.B. Power has justified the salary of its vice-president nuclear, Brett Plummer, "based on his ability to run Point Lepreau well."
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In 2017, N.B. Power confirmed that Plummer was being paid $500,000 US, or about $655,000 Cdn at the time, more than the utility's CEO.
Higgs told reporters an agreement with Ontario Power would also help the two provinces avoid competing with each other in the field of next-generation small modular nuclear reactors.
The Ontario Power email doesn't mention small modular nuclear reactors, but the premier said partnering with the utility would allow for a "a pan-Canadian approach" on promoting the technology.
The Atlantic Loop would expand the electrical grid connections between Quebec and New Brunswick and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to provide greater access to renewable electricity, like hydro from Quebec.
The Atlantic Loop would expand the electrical grid connections between Quebec and New Brunswick and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to provide greater access to renewable electricity, like hydro from Quebec. (CBC)
Higgs also told reporters he welcomed measures in the federal budget Tuesday that might make the proposed Atlantic Loop more financially viable.
The plan would link electrical grids and upgrade transmission links in the four Atlantic provinces and Quebec to allow more selling of carbon-free hydroelectric power around the region.
Ottawa's budget will allow such projects to be paid for over a 30-year timeline and make them eligible for a 15-per-cent tax credit.
Higgs has been hesitant about the potential cost of the project, but said the federal policy moves could make it more affordable.
"I see a shift there in the federal government's philosophy, so we'll look at the loop, at the benefits to New Brunswick and the benefits to Atlantic Canada," he said. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jacques Poitras
Provincial Affairs reporter
Jacques Poitras has been CBC's provincial affairs reporter in New Brunswick since 2000. He grew up in Moncton and covered Parliament in Ottawa for the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. He has reported on every New Brunswick election since 1995 and won awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, the National Newspaper Awards and Amnesty International. He is also the author of five non-fiction books about New Brunswick politics and history.
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Saturday price hike for electricity in N.B. a projected 4.8 per cent
Changes ordered by utility board cut $50 million from proposed increase
In a letter to the EUB, responding to a series of changes required by the regulator following a two week hearing in February, N.B. Power's Stephen Waycott said making alterations will lower the rate increase from the 8.9 per cent applied for, to 5.7 per cent. An additional rebate due to customers from another issue that also takes effect on April 1 will further reduce new charges customers face.
"The combined impact … is that NB Power's in-province customers will see an average increase in electricity rates of 4.8 percent in 2023/24," wrote Waycott, who is N.B. Power's director of corporate compliance and regulatory affairs.
Every one per cent change in rates is worth just under $16 million per year to the utility.
Nancy
Rubin (right) led a team of three lawyers hired by J.D. Irving Ltd. to
fight N.B. Power's rate application. The group, including Brianne
Rudderham (left), forced N.B. Power to provide updated budget numbers
for next year that led to a reduced increase. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
For a residential customer with an annual power bill of $3,000, the new prices will add $144 plus HST in yearly charges. Separately, the utilities board also approved a $1 per month increase to customers who rent water heaters from N.B. Power, which would add to that rate increase amount.
The board still needs to grant a final approval to the changes, but that is mostly a formality. Municipal utilities in Saint John, Edmundston and Perth Andover are expected to adopt the same percentage increases for their own customers.
N.B. Power originally applied for an 8.9 per cent increase in its rates in early October, hoping to have it approved for the beginning of its next fiscal year, which begins on April 1.
It's application was challenged aggressively over eight days at hearings in February, especially by its largest private sector customer, J.D. Irving Ltd.
N.B.
Power burns oil to generate electricity at its Coleson Cove generating
station in Saint John. Prices for the commodity have been coming down
which has led to a reduction in N.B. Power's rate increase. (Roger Cosman/CBC)
The forestry, transportation and consumer products company hired three lawyers to fight the increase. The group successfully challenged N.B. Power's use of stale data in the case it was making for higher prices.
N.B. Power had been claiming the high prices for commodities it uses to run its largest generators would attack its bottom line in the coming year.
"In a single year, the cost of fuel and purchased power necessary to supply customers in New Brunswick has increased by $102.8 million," N.B. Power president Lori Clark told the hearing on its opening day.
"This has occurred largely due to market price increases for natural gas, heavy fuel oil and electricity."
All New Brunswick electricity customers are likely to see a 4.8 per
cent increase in rates beginning on Saturday. (Robert Jones/CBC)
But those claims were based on old prices from months earlier in June, 2022.
During hearings, the utility acknowledged it had fresher data internally that showed some prices had moderated, and prospects for exporting power had improved significantly.
In a preliminary ruling two weeks ago, the EUB told the utility it needed to use the more up-to-date numbers.
"The Board is not satisfied that the rates, as applied for, are just and reasonable," it wrote in demanding changes.
"NB Power is ordered to refile its 2023/2024 test year budget … and the resulting rates."
The new calculations show that despite losing one third of the requested rate increase, N.B. Power's projected profit for the coming year has more than doubled to $30 million by using the new figures.
N.B. Power did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the changes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
We do still live in a free Country, don't we ??
No way will I allow NB Power to tell me when
I can use my appliances.
Don't get me wrong, I do everything I can to
'help' NB Power , I follow the 'rule' of using Energy
in the hours they suggest and I've invested
in a Heat Pump.
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