N.B. Power expects rate increases, growing debt for years to come
CEO says the utility is looking to ongoing review for ways to temper rate increases
Customers can expect rate increases for years to come, N.B. Power's CEO said Friday, as the utility grapples with growing debt.
But CEO Lori Clark, appearing at a legislative committee, did not say how long those increases are expected to continue, or how much debt is expected over the next few years.
The utility announced last week it is requesting a 4.75 per cent increase to rates in 2026, and tentatively plans to increase rates by 6.5 per cent in 2027 and 6.5 per cent again in 2028.
Clark declined to say whether future rate increases would line up with the rates proposed for the next three years, or if they would land closer to the nearly 10 per cent applied in both of the last two years.
She said the $9-billion Mactaquac Dam refurbishment would not be funded entirely through borrowing, but did not say how much of that total would be added to the utility's current $5.7-billion debt load.
Power rates and debt likely to continue to climb: N.B. Power CEOProgressive Conservative MLA Kris Austin said during the meeting that he's concerned the utility's debt has far outpaced power rates.
"Is it accurate to say that, even with this rate increase that you're asking for, for 2026, still keeps our rates artificially low in comparison with our debt ratio?" he asked.
"The challenges cannot be underestimated that, that N.B. Power is facing ... at the end of the day, somebody has to pay the bill."
Clark said with the last three rate increases, N.B. Power is "starting to catch up," but that more rate increases are necessary.
Review draws hope, skepticism
Clark said the rates for the next two years won't be finalized until the utility receives the recommendations from an ongoing review into N.B. Power's operations.
"The comprehensive review will have an opportunity to provide recommendations that may be able to offset some of that or manage the rate of increase for customers," she said, speaking with reporters at the legislature.
That review aims to figure out how the utility can get into a more sustainable financial position, despite its planned spending on aging infrastructure, while also charging fair rates.
While pointing to the review as an avenue for solutions, Clark warned the recommendations won't be "silver bullets" for the utility.
"Sometimes I lose sleep at night thinking, what do we need to do tomorrow? How do we fix this tomorrow?" she said.
"And, what I realize and bring myself back to is, we didn't get here overnight, so to think that we can solve this overnight is going to be wrong, we can't. It's going to take time to solve it."
Austin said he's still not convinced the review will yield any new solutions.
He believes the province is using the process to "soften the blow" of its eventual decision.
"There are times when we just don't have all the information, and we need to gather it to come out with a reasonable decision, but this isn't one of them. This is one of those areas where we know what the issues are," he said.
"It's a massive debt load. Where is that debt load going to go? Is it going to continue to be downloaded to ratepayers? Is it going to be transferred over to taxpayers by the province taking the debt?"
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Alix Villeneuve
Date: Thu, Oct 2, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Subject: Automatic reply: Court of Appeal File No. 68-23-CA - Judicial Review of Board Decision in Matter 541
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
Thank you for contacting the Honourable Rob Moore, P.C., M.P. office. We appreciate the time you took to get in touch with our office.
If you did not already, please ensure to include your full contact details on your email and the appropriate staff will be able to action your request. We strive to ensure all constituent correspondence is responded to in a timely manner.
If your question or concern is time sensitive, please call our office: 506-832-4200.
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Office of the Honourable Rob Moore, P.C., M.P.
Member of Parliament for Fundy Royal
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Oct 2, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Subject: Fwd: Court of Appeal File No. 68-23-CA - Judicial Review of Board Decision in Matter 541
To: Jacques.Poitras <Jacques.Poitras@cbc.ca>, John Furey <JohnFurey@fureylegal.com>, Robert. Jones <Robert.Jones@cbc.ca>, Susan.Holt <Susan.Holt@gnb.ca>, robert.mckee <robert.mckee@gnb.ca>, robert.gauvin <robert.gauvin@gnb.ca>, briangallant10 <briangallant10@gmail.com>, Mitton, Megan (LEG) <megan.mitton@gnb.ca>, michelle.conroy <michelle.conroy@gnb.ca>, rob.moore <rob.moore@parl.gc.ca>, John.Williamson <John.Williamson@parl.gc.ca>, Clark, Lori <lclark@nbpower.com>
Cc: <jdoughart@gmail.com>, Kathleen <Kathleen.Mitchell@nbeub.ca>, Aherrington@lawsoncreamer.com <Aherrington@lawsoncreamer.com>, Melissa Curran <Melissa.Curran@nbeub.ca>, Dave <Dave.Young@nbeub.ca>, Michael <Michael.Dickie@nbeub.ca>, Veronique Otis <Veronique.Otis@nbeub.ca>, Susan <Susan.Colwell@nbeub.ca>, Chiasson, Alain (OAG/CPG) <Alain.Chiasson2@gnb.ca>, Len <len.hoyt@mcinnescooper.com>, rburgoyne@coxandpalmer.com <rburgoyne@coxandpalmer.com>, louis-philippe.gauthier@cfib.ca <louis-philippe.gauthier@cfib.ca>, frederic.gionet@cfib.ca <frederic.gionet@cfib.ca>, Sollows, David (ERD/DER) <david.sollows@gnb.ca>, Brandy Gellner <Brandy.Gellner@libertyutilities.com>, Gilles <Gilles.volpe@libertyutilities.com>, David <dave.lavigne@libertyutilities.com>, Laura <LGordon@nbpower.com>, Stephen <SWaycott@nbpower.com>
N.B. Power seeking across-the-board rate hike of 4.75 per cent in 2026
Increase would cost average home customer another $130 on power bills next year
N.B. Power is asking for regulatory approval for a 4.75 per cent rate increase to electricity bills next April, a substantial hike but one that would be lower than three years of even larger increases.
The new rate increase, if approved by the Energy and Utilities Board, will add another $130 to the average residential power bill in 2026-2027, based on figures the utility released Wednesday.
Even with that hike, CEO Lori Clark said the Crown utility's $5.7-billion debt will continue to increase in the coming years as it embarks on a series of costly renovations of its major generating stations.
Clark told reporters the corporation's executives talked about seeking a bigger increase but wanted to respect the commitment it made in 2023, when it unveiled a three-year plan with two annual hikes near 10 per cent followed by a lower increase in 2026.
"We're always balancing a multitude of different things in the utility and the impact of rates on customers and affordability is always something that's front of mind for us," she said.
"We also have to look at ensuring the utility is financially stable now and into the future."
N.B. Power wants to raise rates 4.75 per centOn top of the major increases in the last two years was an additional three per cent charge the utility applied to cover the cost of "variances" — cost overruns that are billed to customers separately to cover unexpected spending in previous years.
That additional three per cent is built into the 2026 application again, and the 4.75 per cent increase is on top of that, officials said Wednesday.
This rate increase was one that we thought was appropriate for New Brunswick given the review that was underway... We do know the status quo is not an option, and we do see rate increases in the future.
— N.B. Power CEO Lori Clark
In March, Premier Susan Holt signalled her displeasure with rate increases that were pinching New Brunswickers even after her government's decision to give customers rebates equal to the provincial sales tax on their bills.
"It needs to change," Holt said in the legislature March 26. "The rates can't keep going like they're going now, and the status quo cannot continue."
Clark did not directly answer a question about whether she felt political pressure to keep a lid on this year's rate increase.
She said the utility based its decision in part on the fact that the utility's future is in question due to a review ordered by Holt that is expected to result in recommendations early next year.
"This rate increase was one that we thought was appropriate for New Brunswick given the review that was underway," Clark said.
"We do know the status quo is not an option, and we do see rate increases in the future. So this review will help us determine whether or not the rate increases are appropriate and other options that there may be for helping New Brunswickers as we move forward."
The tentative plan is to increase rates by 6.5 per cent in April 2027 and by 6.5 per cent again in April 2028.
Average customer paying 30% more than in 2022
The utility had been facing a 2027 target to reduce its debt to 80 per cent of the total value of its assets, which compelled it to seek large increases. But in 2023 the Blaine Higgs government extended that deadline to 2029, and earlier this year the Liberals eliminated it altogether.
How electricity rates have become a symbol of New Brunswick’s affordability problemsClark attributed $1.5 billion of N.B. Power's current $5.7 billion debt to a decade of lower-than-required rate hikes between 2011 and 2022, some the result of government-imposed limits.
In a statement, Energy Minister René Legacy did not comment on the amount of the rate increase, calling the utility's EUB application "a normal process" and a way for customers, industry and others to have a say.
"Government will be following the proceedings as they unfold over the months ahead," he said.
The increases this year and last year, plus an earlier increase in 2023, led to customers paying about 30 per cent more now than they were in 2022.
The average residential customer is paying $645 per year more this year than three years ago, a reality that has fuelled public anger at a time when other basic necessities like food and housing have been hit by inflation.
A Moncton woman collected 45 power bills to investigate higher rates. Here’s what she found.The 4.75 rate increase is across the board, meaning the utility wants the same hike applied to all rate categories, from residential to industrial customers.
Fee proposed for those who refuse smart meters
Earlier this year, J.D. Irving Ltd. announced it was permanently closing down half of its production at Irving Paper in Saint John and eliminating 140 positions because of what it considered high power rates.
N.B. Power also announced Wednesday it was hiring Laurentis Energy Partners, a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation, to support its running of the frequently troubled Point Lepreau nuclear generation station.
The three-year contract will cost $20 million a year.
The utility will also ask the EUB to approve a $4.65 opt-out fee for customers who refuse to have a smart meter installed at their homes to measure their electricity consumption.
Earlier this year, many New Brunswickers theorized that the meters were responsible for apparent spikes in their bills, which N.B. Power said were the result of rate increases, longer billing periods and colder weather than the previous year.
The utility had estimated that two per cent of customers would opt out of the smart meters, but in fact four per cent have opted out.
The EUB application also seeks a change to the rates charged to customers who install public electric-vehicle chargers, to lower their cost.
It asks as well for a change to its "wind balancing charge" to pass on more of the cost of providing back-up baseload power to wind generation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
From: NB Power <noreply-nepasrepondre@communication.nbpower.com>
Date: Wed, Oct 1, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Subject: General Rate Application 2026/27
To: DAVID AMOS <DAVID.RAYMOND.AMOS333@gmail.com>
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From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Date: Mon, Jun 24, 2024 at 8:59 PM
Subject: Fwd: Court of Appeal File No. 68-23-CA - Judicial Review of Board Decision in Matter 541
To: <jdoughart@gmail.com>, Mitchell, Kathleen <Kathleen.Mitchell@nbeub.ca>, Aherrington@lawsoncreamer.com <Aherrington@lawsoncreamer.com
Cc: Clark, Lori <lclark@nbpower.com>
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Date: Mon, Jun 24, 2024 at 8:29 PM
Subject: Fwd: Court of Appeal File No. 68-23-CA - Judicial Review of Board Decision in Matter 541
To: Susan.Holt <Susan.Holt@gnb.ca>, robert.mckee <robert.mckee@gnb.ca>, hugh.flemming <hugh.flemming@gnb.ca>, <Steve.Outhouse@gnb.ca>, blaine.higgs <blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>, Ross.Wetmore <Ross.Wetmore@gnb.ca>, rob.moore <rob.moore@parl.gc.ca>, John.Williamson <John.Williamson@parl.gc.ca>, jake.stewart <jake.stewart@parl.gc.ca>, andrea.anderson-mason <andrea.anderson-mason@gnb.ca>
Cc: Robert. Jones <Robert.Jones@cbc.ca>, John Furey <JohnFurey@fureylegal.com>, Glenn Zacher (gzacher@stikeman.com) <gzacher@stikeman.com>
N.B. Power executives deny exaggerating nuclear troubles to justify large rate hike
Utility faces pointed questions from about whether its expenses are inflated
N.B.
Power president Lori Clark and chief financial officer Darren Murphy
exit the utility's rate hearing during a break. The two executives said
estimates of expected poor performance at the Point Lepreau nuclear
station this year and next year are realistic given its recent history. (Pat Richard/CBC)N.B. Power executives faced pointed questions early at a New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board hearing that is reviewing plans to raise electricity rates 20 per cent over the next two years, nearly half of which is already being collected from customers.
N.B. Power president Lori Clark and chief financial officer Darren Murphy both denied a suggestion from the forestry company J.D. Irving Ltd., barely an hour into the 16-day hearing, that the utility is exaggerating how poor performance at the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station is likely to be this year, and next year, to justify raising rates more than necessary.
"The performance metrics that N.B. Power is forecasting for Point Lepreau are not in fact improvements. It's a forecast of worse performance," said Glenn Zacher, a Toronto-based energy lawyer representing JDI at the hearing.
Zacher noted that N.B. Power figures show Lepreau suffered breakdowns averaging just over 19 days per year over a five-year period, ending in 2022.
Point
Lepreau has operated below expectations since emerging from a 4½-year
refurbishment in 2012. Estimates by N.B. Power that performance at the
plant will worsen this year and next are being challenged at its rate
hearing. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
That was third worst among 38 peer reactors, and Zacher wanted to know why N.B. Power is now budgeting for 29 days of breakdowns at Lepreau, per year, over the next few years.
That "no doubt puts the station dead last" among all of its peers, said Zacher. He suggested that, combined with additional downtime being set aside for planned maintenance outages, inflates the plant's likely costs and exaggerates the utility's expenses by more than $20 million, both this year and next.
With more optimistic Lepreau budgeting, he suggested that rate increases as high as 9.8 per cent per year over the next two years facing some customers might have been between one and two percentage points lower.
"You're taking a straight historical average of admittedly bad performance and using that to forecast future performance," said Zacher.
Toronto
lawyer Glenn Zacher has been hired by J.D. Irving Ltd. to represent it
at N.B. Power's rate hearing. He asked a series of pointed questions
about whether N.B. Power has been inflating expected costs related to
the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station this year and next year. (Stikeman Elliott LLP)
Murphy said the higher estimate for lost production at Lepreau is no budgeting gimmick but an attempt to be more realistic about the plant's near-term prospects, given its performance to date.
"Although these are increases in forecasted costs, they are actually representative of historical actual costs," said Murphy.
"That's what we've attempted to do in this application — better match up what our experience has been in the last number of years with expected performance over the next few years."
Clark told Zacher that non-nuclear equipment at Lepreau, some of it more than 40 years old, was not upgraded at the time the reactor was refurbished and has been causing most of the problems.
Energy
and Utilities Board member Christopher Stewart is presiding over the
N.B. Power rate hearing. It is expected to last 16 days spread out over
the next two months. (Pat Richard/CBC)
She said there are plans underway to improve Lepreau's performance in relation to its peers but that will take time and money before it shows itself.
"What we're dealing with now is aging equipment in the station," said Clark.
"Significant investment is required in Lepreau."
N.B. Power has applied to raise its rates an average of 9.25 per cent this year and next year, including a pair of 9.8 per cent increases on residential and large industrial customers.
J.D.
Irving Ltd. is N.B. Power's largest private-sector customer. It is
fighting a request by the utility to raise rates an average of 9.25 per
cent this year and next year, including 9.8 per cent on residential and
large industrial customers. (Robert Jones/CBC)
N.B. Power was given permission by the utilities board to begin charging the first increase on April 1 but will have to rebate a portion of what it has collected, if the amount is found to be too high.
Hearings are expected to take 16 sitting days but are spread over the next two months.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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.
ALL NB and Canadian sawmills benefited from the high prices.
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Date: Fri, Jul 7, 2023 at 11:34 AM
Subject: Fwd: Court of Appeal File No. 68-23-CA - Judicial Review of Board Decision in Matter 541
To: Ross.Wetmore <Ross.Wetmore@gnb.ca>, rob.moore <rob.moore@parl.gc.ca>, John.Williamson <John.Williamson@parl.gc.ca>, jake.stewart <jake.stewart@parl.gc.ca>, andrea.anderson-mason <andrea.anderson-mason@gnb.ca>
Cc: Robert. Jones <Robert.Jones@cbc.ca>
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Furey <JohnFurey@fureylegal.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2023 16:03:36 +0000
Subject: Court of Appeal File No. 68-23-CA - Judicial Review of Board
Decision in Matter 541
To: "Mitchell, Kathleen" <Kathleen.Mitchell@nbeub.ca>,
"Aherrington@lawsoncreamer.com
Melissa Curran <Melissa.Curran@nbeub.ca>, "Young, Dave"
<Dave.Young@nbeub.ca>, "Michael.Dickie@nbeub.ca"
<Michael.Dickie@nbeub.ca>, Veronique Otis <Veronique.Otis@nbeub.ca>,
"Colwell, Susan" <Susan.Colwell@nbeub.ca>, "Chiasson, Alain (OAG/CPG)"
<Alain.Chiasson2@gnb.ca>, "Hoyt, Len" <len.hoyt@mcinnescooper.com>,
"Glenn Zacher (gzacher@stikeman.com)" <GZacher@stikeman.com>,
"rburgoyne@coxandpalmer.com" <rburgoyne@coxandpalmer.com>,
"louis-philippe.gauthier@cfib.
"frederic.gionet@cfib.ca" <frederic.gionet@cfib.ca>,
"David.Raymond.Amos333@gmail.
"daly@nbnet.nb.ca" <daly@nbnet.nb.ca>, "david.sollows@gnb.ca"
<david.sollows@gnb.ca>, "Brandy.Gellner@
<Brandy.Gellner@
"Gilles.volpe@
<Gilles.volpe@
"dave.lavigne@
<dave.lavigne@
Cc: "Waycott, Stephen" <SWaycott@nbpower.com>, "Gordon, Laura"
<LGordon@nbpower.com>
Dear Ms. Mitchell, Counsel and Registered Parties,
Please find attached the following documentation:
1. Court Stamped copy of a Notice of Application dated July 4, 2023
(issued by the Registrar of the Court of Appeal on July 5, 2023);
2. Court Stamped copy of the Affidavit of Darren Murphy dated July 4, 2023;
3. Copy of correspondence dated July 5, 2023 from the Deputy
Registrar of the Court of Appeal confirming the hearing date of
October 19, 2023 and the dates for filing of further documentation;
and
4. An Acknowledgement of Receipt (in both Word and pdf format).
I am providing this documentation to the Board, Board staff, counsel
for those parties who had retained counsel, and those parties who have
not previously retained counsel. I recognise that counsel for J.D.
Irving Ltd. And Utilities Municipal have changed since the hearing of
this matter, and will reach out to those counsel directly.
May I ask that each registered party execute and return to me the
Acknowledgement of Receipt that has been enclosed. The form has been
adapted to permit execution by counsel, an authorized representative,
or the party themselves where they are individuals who have intervened
without counsel.
NB Power has not automatically added Registered Interveners in Matter
541 as parties to this Application. The practice in these matters is
not to do so, and to require such interested persons to apply to the
Court of Appeal for status as an intervener in this proceeding. NB
Power will not object to any such motion for status which is brought
to the Court.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Regards,
John
John G. Furey
Barrister & Solicitor
John G. Furey Professional Corporation
265 Berkley Drive
New Maryland, NB
E3C 1B9
Email: JohnFurey@fureylegal.com<
Phone: 506-444-1328
Fax: 506-300-2076
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