Friday 17 February 2023

Revelation at N.B. Power rate hearing triggers order for more evidence

 

Revelation at N.B. Power rate hearing triggers order for more evidence

Utility told to hand over critical cost information it updated internally in January

The board made the order over strenuous objections from the utility.

"N.B. Power does … have an obligation to advise the board if there has been a material or exceptional change in its evidentiary package," EUB chair François Beaulieu said in ordering the updated material be provided. 

"If corrections to the evidence are required, such corrections should be made at the earliest opportunity."

N.B. Power is seeking approval from the EUB for an 8.9 per cent rate increase effective April 1.

A side profile of a man with glasses with his hand on his mouth. J.D. Irving Ltd. lawyer Conor O'Neil learned through cross-examination that N.B. Power has new cost estimates for the coming year that it has not shared at its ongoing rate hearing. He successfully argued they should be produced. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

Opponents of the application, principally forest product manufacturers J.D. Irving Ltd. and Twin Rivers Paper Company, have been questioning whether stale budget numbers used by N.B. Power in its application are exaggerating how much of an increase it really needs.

N.B. Power's evidence shows it plans to buy $1.09 billion worth of oil, coal, natural gas, uranium and wholesale electricity to generate and supply power to customers in the coming year — an estimated increase of $403 million over the current year.

It's the main reason for the size of the rate increase N.B. Power is seeking, but costs quoted for those commodities in the application were calculated back in June 2022 and that has become a focus of the hearing.

Commodity prices have generally fallen since then and hearing participants have been probing whether that opens the door to the rate increase being lowered.

A man with short hair and glasses N.B. Power lawyer John Furey argued against the utility being made to supply updated cost numbers it generated internally in January for the coming year. He accused J.D. Irving Ltd. of cherry-picking information to support its case undermining the utility's rate increase request. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

That effort has been energized by a surprise disclosure made during cross-examination of an employee at the centre of creating the cost estimates from last summer who acknowledged newer estimates exist.

Under questioning from J.D. Irving Ltd. lawyer Conor O'Neil, Craig Church, N.B. Power's chief modeller, explained elaborate simulations of N.B. Power's operations meant to estimate electricity supplies and costs are created internally every three months.

That immediately caught O'Neil's attention.

A man in a suit and tie and glasses writing in a notebook. Energy and Utilities Board Chair François Beaulieu has ordered N.B. Power to produce updated cost estimates for what it is spending on fuel and purchased power next year. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

"Did you run one in January 2023?" he asked.

"Yes we did," said Church.

"Can we have that?" said O'Neil.

N.B. Power lawyer John Furey objected to the request. 

Furey told the board many things have changed positively and negatively for N.B. Power since its budget was first prepared and said J.D. Irving Ltd. is fishing only for certain things that would support its view the rate increase is exaggerated.

"Interveners don't just get to focus on one thing that they think may have gone favourably and ignore all of the negative variances that have likely occurred," said Furey.

N.B. Power estimates it will spend $166.2 million on oil to generate electricity at the Coleson Cove generating station next year, based on price estimates from last June. The utility has been ordered to provide more recent figures at its rate hearing. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)

"What does that do to the fairness of the process?"

The three-member panel hearing the rate application, including Beaulieu, Stephanie Wilson and former public intervenor Heather Black who is now an EUB member, recessed to consider the issue and emerged with a ruling in J.D. Irving Ltd.'s favour.

"Considering that the magnitude of the fuel and purchased power and their revenue requirements for this year, the board will permit the ... January update results to be provided to Mr. O'Neil," said Beaulieu.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Robert Jones

Reporter

Robert Jones has been a reporter and producer with CBC New Brunswick since 1990. His investigative reports on petroleum pricing in New Brunswick won several regional and national awards and led to the adoption of price regulation in 2006.

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
 
 

41 Comments

 
David Amos 
Good night cruel world
 
 
David Amos
 
Surprise Surprise Surprise
 

David Amos
 
Welcome to the circus
 
 
 
 
John Grail  
Allow more companies to move in and let the free market handle this. 
 
 
Dianne MacPherson  
Reply to John Grail    
No way !

Do you want NB to be in the pickle that

NS is in ??

Ontario went there but also got 'burned'.

 
David Amos
Reply to Dianne MacPherson 
I agrree 
 
 
 
 
 
Atom Gallant
I've always wondered, Is it really necessary to sell so much power to the USA?  
 
 
G. Timothy Walton  
Reply to Atom Gallant 
It's part of the business case they use to justify moneypits like Lepreau. 
 
 
Atom Gallant
Reply to Atom Gallant 
So they raise the rates so NB consumers will be forced dial back their winter comfort level so as NB Power will have more power to sell o the states at a premium. I see 
 
 
David Amos  
Reply to Atom Gallant
As I said many times welcome to the circus 
 
 
 
 
William Peters 
Look at that commodity mix. Whoever controls those energy commodities controls the world. It doesn't take much of a "disruption" to have those commodities valued at multiples of what we have now. Needless to say, we are the mercy of markets whose pricing rationales are easily manipulated and prone to wild swings. There's always life on the street for you or I if we can't pay. Whoever is selling to NB power feels no different. You'll pay or suffer the discipline of the market. What a sick mess we are caught up in. And to think that many drink this "free market" Koo-aid, go to war for it and vote with its interests at heart. 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to William Peters  
My hero Mr Tesla figured that out over 100 years ago
  
 
 

 
Murray Brown  
Corruption is endemic in New Brunswick... And it has been since the later part of the 1980s when Irving favourite Frank McKenna was elected. The Irving's were so happy to get rid of their nemesis Richard Hatfield. The last politician in this province to say 'no' to the Irving family. Since then, they've been running the show with former politicians like McKenna on the board of TD Canada Trust, and Bernard Lord on the board of Mmedavie blue cross... See the connection? The C B C never will.  
 
 
Graham McCormack  
Reply to Murray Brown 
LOL, you have a hazy recollection of Hatfield. The people were done with him and it was time to go.
 
 
Atom Gallant
Reply to Graham McCormack
...Said the Irving owned local media   
 
 
G. Timothy Walton 
Reply to Murray Brown
If you thing Donate-to-Both Irving cared who was in power... 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Murray Brown
Methinks it interesting that you are permitted to post the awful truth N'esy Pas?
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trevis L. Kingston 

Sounds like a piece of NB Powers financial Puzzle was removed and a "better" piece

was substituted ... after colouring it to fit.

 
David Amos
Reply to Trevis L. Kingston 
Hush now thats a secret
 
 
 
 
 
Christine Martinez

 
 
Rosco holt
Reply to Christine Martinez 
Or it could be that government is forcing them. 
 
 
Fred Brewer
Reply to Christine Martinez 
You nailed it. Any such estimate would compare positives with negatives.   

 
David Amos
Reply to
Rosco holt 
Methinks the lady doth protest too much N'esy Pas?

Comment history

Christine Martinez posted on Revelation at N.B. Power rate hearing triggers order for more evidence | CBC News:

""...elaborate simulations of N.B. Power's operations meant to estimate electricity supplies and cost..."

 
 
 
 
 
 
Pierre Sheppard 
If NB power is forced out, by say JD and company, then Quebec will buy them out for a song and we will under Quebecs tum a little more. Just my opinion! 


Rosco holt
Reply to Pierre Sheppard
If Quebec Hydro take power of our utility, we won't have any choice but pay what they ask. The EUB would be useless.   
 
 
Alex Butt 
Reply to Pierre Sheppard 
The eub is useless. All they do is collect a salary and put on a show pretending to care about the rate payers. 


Fred Brewer
Reply to Rosco holt
I cannot agree that we would have to pay whatever Hydro Quebec asks for. The EUB has the power to refuse or lower any request, and if they don't do their job, the NB Government can over-rule the EUB. You would need to explain to me why the EUB and NBGov would want to rule in favour of any unjust request for a rate increase.  
 
 
Atom Gallant
Reply to
Alex Butt
They would be more accurately described as "The rubber stamp club" 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Pierre Sheppard
Well put 


David Amos
Reply to
Atom Gallant
"The rubber stamp club" Trust that I will remember that expression 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Steve Alexander   
Finally, let's make NB Power accountable. A CANDU 600 makes 1.30 million a day, 0.3 goes to running the facility. The rest is spent on 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to
Steve Alexander 
Go Figure
 
 
Steve Alexander 
Reply to David Amos  
The rest is spent on women, Liquor, and Golf. The rest they blow! 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to
Steve Alexander  
Bingo
 





 
WhatsGoingOnInohio?? ProudCanadian
Bottom line is NBers are tapped out. Pretty soon when businesses start closing, those tax revenues that subsidize other things are young to dry up. Time to cut some taxes. We pay 60% of our income tax to Ottawa? What are they providing us with in return? What do we actually get back from Ottawa except more rules and a small portion of our money back? National defense??
 
 
Lou Bell
Reply to WhatsGoingOnInohio?? ProudCanadian 
National Defense ? Basically a few remote control planes with ranges of 3 miles and not much more ! We need the Americans to shoot down a weather balloon for Gawds sake ! Like all things Trudeau our Military is nothing more than a rag tag supply of 2nd hand rebuilt relics and nothing more ! It's embarassing that Ukraine asks for Military weapons and Trudeau committed FOUR TANKS !! He may as well have just committed a weeks supply of box lunches and nothing more !!!
 
 
Atom Gallant
Reply to WhatsGoingOnInohio?? ProudCanadian 
In all fairness to Trudeau with whom I have a personal dislike for has as PM commitments as a NATO member. And all who are paying attention understand that NATO is itself at the mercy of US arms manufactures and companies like Halliburton. One entity lobbys hard to bomb a country to smithereens through the corporately controlled media then Halliburton comes in and rebuilds with no bid contracts while the country in question is forced to pay the bills. And in the words of war criminal extraordinaire GWB, "Your either with us or you're against us" 

 
David Amos
Reply to WhatsGoingOnInohio?? ProudCanadian  
Methinks you truly wished to know what is going on at the circus you would attend the EUB Hearing in Fat Fred City or at least download the transcripts and read them N'esy Pas? 







 
rayma allaby
release the documents that nb power is sitting on...cause you can bet where they tried to hide this that there is a lot of information  in there ..
 
 
David Amos
Reply to rayma allaby
Yup 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Ernesto Rafael
Maybe individually, NB citizens should dissect and debate their power rates. Or is this just and option for oligarchs?
 
 
Rosco holt
Reply to Ernesto Rafael
It's only for oligarchs has always....

Atom Gallant
Reply to Rosco holt
Plebs must learn their place.
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Ernesto Rafael
Methinks you know that I have been doing that for years while the sheople laughed at my concerns N'esy Pas?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment