Human Development Council

Nichola Taylor NB ACORN - EDITED PICTURE

April 1 2026

NB Power review calls for support programs efficiency, advocates push for more

Katherine Del Salto News Energy poverty, Human Development Council, NB ACORN, NB Power, NB Power review

While NB Power’s review calls for improving the efficiency of support programs, advocates say more needs to be done.

A comprehensive review of NB Power was released Monday.

The report, Fit for the Future, outlines 50 recommendations aimed at ensuring affordable and stable electricity rates, safe and reliable service, and a sustainable, competitive utility.

One recommendation from the panel of utility and energy experts who authored the report calls for a review of current social programs, energy-efficiency initiatives and energy-use management programs to determine which provide the best value for money.

The recommendation also calls for identifying which organization is best suited to deliver each program, whether that be NB Power, the provincial government or another entity, to improve overall effectiveness.

Nichola Taylor, chair of NB ACORN, said the organization is “glad” affordability was addressed by the utility’s review panel but said more action is needed to address the province’s energy affordability challenges.

“The cost of living is really affecting New Brunswickers in a big way, and we need a lot more help from those who can give it,” she said.

According to the Human Development Council’s 2025 Energy Poverty Report, New Brunswick has the second-highest rate of energy poverty in Canada, behind only Newfoundland and Labrador.

The report highlights how energy poverty disproportionately affects low-income residents, with more than 68 per cent of low-income households spending six per cent or more of their after-tax income on energy costs. Households exceeding that threshold are considered energy-poor.

With affordability becoming a growing concern, Taylor said the province should implement a dedicated energy rebate program for low-income residents.

She said existing measures, such as the 10 per cent energy rebate, do not go far enough.

“People who can’t afford their heat aren’t turning it on, so it’s not balanced, it’s not fair for people on low and moderate incomes,” she said.

Taylor said because some low-income households limit their energy use to cut costs, they receive little benefit from the province’s current rebate program.

She said ACORN would like to see a rebate program modeled after the Ontario Electricity Support Program, which provides monthly bill credits to eligible low-income households.

Taylor added the organization would also like NB Power to expand debt-forgiveness options and make the winter disconnection moratorium permanent.

“This is something [the province and NB Power] can be working on or should have been working on in order to help people,” she said.

March 23 2026

Researchers urge rebate program as NB Power defends proposed increase

Katherine Del Salto News Energy and Utilities Board, Human Development Council, NB Power

Human Development Council researchers wrapped up NB Power’s evidence period, urging more support for low-income households.

HDC researchers Liam Fisher and Heather Atcheson were the final witnesses in the utility’s two-week-long rate hearings.

The poverty research team authored HDC’s 2025 Energy Report, which the organization submitted as evidence in NB Power’s hearings before the Energy and Utilities Board.

During these hearings, NB Power is seeking approval to raise energy rates by 4.75 per cent for the coming year.

According to various media reports, this is part of a long-range financial plan that, if approved, would see power rates increase by 50 per cent over six years, by March 2028.

During their testimony last Wednesday, the researchers told the hearing that rising electricity prices are creating a serious affordability challenge for low-income households — groups that, according to the report, include seniors, newcomers, people with disabilities and others. They also warned that without targeted protections, future rate increases will continue to disproportionately impact these residents.

“There are projects and programs in place that are addressing other areas of energy poverty,” Atcheson said. “But the low-income affordability piece is something we would recommend be looked at.”

During cross-examination, the researchers suggested that either the province or NB Power consider adopting a low-income affordability program similar to those used elsewhere in Canada.

They pointed specifically to Ontario’s Electricity Support Program, which provides monthly credits to help reduce electricity bills for qualifying low-income households.

During the hearings, NB Power executives agreed that rising electricity prices would create affordability issues for some of their customers. But in last week’s final arguments, NB Power said the EUB can’t consider affordability when deciding on a proposed rate hike.

In Friday’s final-arguments hearing, EUB chair Christopher Stewart asked the utility’s lawyer, John Furey, what the board could do if the proposed rates were deemed unaffordable for some residents. Furey said the board didn’t have jurisdiction over those issues.

John Furey is NB Power’s lawyer. PHOTO: EUB/YOUTUBE

“That is a matter of social policy that each of the courts of appeal I referenced have said is best left to government,” he said.

Furey said NB Power acknowledges that rate changes in the recent years have created challenges for some, but argued the utility needs the rate hike to invest in infrastructure, maintenance, and major projects like the Matacquac Dam and Point Lepreau.

A decision on any rate increase is reserved by the board and is expected in the coming months. However, since NB Power’s hearings were delayed by several weeks, the board has suggested any decision will not affect rates until June.

March 10 2026

NB Power rate hike delay not enough, say advocates

Katherine Del Salto News Human Development Council, NB ACORN, NB Power

Despite the delay of NB Power’s proposed 4.75 per cent rate hike, advocates warn higher power bills will still hit low-income residents hard.

In a ruling Monday, the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board rejected NB Power’s request to increase electricity prices, which, if approved, would have taken effect April 1.

Instead, the board decided to delay the rate hike until June or July, stating that an interim rate order is an “extraordinary remedy and is not intended to shield utilities from the known or reasonably foreseeable consequences of their business decisions.”

According to multiple media reports, the delay until July 1 would result in a revenue loss for NB Power — and savings for customers — of about $22.3 million.

However, New Brunswick ACORN chair Nichola Taylor said the organization is not slowing down its efforts to stop the hike altogether.

Taylor said the advocacy group has filed written submissions on behalf of low- to moderate‑income people, as well as those on fixed incomes, urging the EUB to consider how another increase would affect the most vulnerable.

“It’s really difficult for them because they have to make some tough choices,” Taylor said. “They’re making those choices of, ‘Do I put the heat on and stay warm, or do I put food on my table?’”

Taylor said another increase would be “too much” for many families.

Report finds energy costs hitting low‑income households hardest

According to the Human Development Council’s 2025 Energy Poverty Report, New Brunswick has the second-highest rate of energy poverty in the country.

Electricity costs rose 21 per cent between 2021 and 2025, leaving many New Brunswickers unable to afford essential needs — from heating to running medical devices. The report notes that increasing energy bills have pushed households into debt or left them at risk of disconnection.

The report also highlights the disproportionate impact on low‑income households, with more than 68 per cent spending over six per cent of their after-tax income on electricity. HDC executive director Randy Hatfield said households crossing that threshold is considered energy‑poor.

“Increased energy, increased rent, increased food costs are putting tremendous burden on low‑income New Brunswickers,” Hatfield said.

Before another rate hike is introduced, Hatfield said the province and NB Power should develop a more comprehensive energy‑poverty strategy.

He acknowledged existing NB Power programs aimed at reducing energy use and costs, such as the enhanced energy savings program and the winter disconnection moratorium. But he said more is needed, particularly around payment plans and debt management.

“If you are merely postponing payments of the debt, and making prepayment options too onerous, you’re not dealing with [the problem] in the long term,” he said.

Like Hatfield, Taylor believes more needs to be done on debt forgiveness and said ACORN is pushing for stronger measures, including a permanent winter moratorium.

Acadia Broadcasting reached out to NB Power, which declined an interview.

In an emailed statement Friday, spokesperson Elizabeth Fraser said the utility recognizes that affordability is a “real” concern for many customers.

Fraser said NB Power is offering programs to help New Brunswickers manage their energy use and reduce costs by improving home and business energy efficiency, including through its enhanced energy savings program.

The utility has also launched initiatives such as the Vulnerable Populations Committee to explore additional ways to support people struggling with affordability.