New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board

It didn’t take long, but New Brunswick’s Energy and Utilities Board gave NB Power almost everything it asked for.

After nearly two weeks of hearings last month, the EUB announced Wednesday it had approved a 4.75 per cent rate hike for the fiscal year ending in 2027.

When it made the request, NB Power said it needed the increase in order to address a material and growing infrastructure deficit that would put reliability at risk and lead to higher costs in the future because of unplanned outages.

In its decision, the EUB said it had considered a number of factors raised by interveners during the hearings, including affordability and the effect of rate increases on low-income and other vulnerable New Brunswickers.

“The Board is acutely aware of the effect of increased rates on NB Power’s customers but cannot arbitrarily reduce rates to punish the utility for past shortcomings,” the decision stated.

“Preventing NB Power from recovering costs where the evidence demonstrates those costs are prudent would harm ratepayers by leading to higher rates in the future or creating unacceptable reliability and safety risks.

“For better or worse, NB Power’s current financial circumstances cannot be ignored.”

NB Power also asked the EUB to approve new rate designs and rates related to electric vehicle charging and optional net-zero rate offering, rental rates increases for its customer energy solutions products and services, a higher wind balancing charge, an AMI opt-out fee (a fee for customers who refuse to have the new smart meters installed), and other rates, charges and proposals.

Everything was approved except NB Power’s request to implement a rate rider to recover revenue that would be lost because the new rates would be implemented after April 1.

NB Power must now refile certain documents to the EUB.

After the board approves them, an order will be issued approving rates for each customer class and the related rate schedules and the EUB will set dates for the new rates to go into effect.

Further examination will begin today as the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board Public considers a proposed 4.75 per cent rate hike for NB Power.

Public hearings begin on Monday morning at 9:30 and are scheduled to continue until March 20.

NB Power filed its application for the increase in October last year

The crown utility claims the current rates will be insufficient to provide for the full recovery of its revenue requirements for the 2026/27 fiscal year.

If the increase is approved, it will go into effect on April 1.

A proposed gas plant in Tantramar continues to stir up controversy.

This time, NB Power is facing criticism after what’s been described by interveners as a non-transparent, last-minute attempt to keep the plant approval afloat at the expense of fairness, due process and public accountability.

According to a statement from the Atlantic Wildlife Institute and Protect the Chignecto Isthmus Coalition, NB Power filed a package of “late evidence” with the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) just a week before an oral hearing is scheduled to begin on Feb. 9.

The AWI statement said the new evidence introduced a previously undisclosed commercial arrangement, a potential Expansion Tolling Agreement tied to the Tantramar project.

“The filing came after regulatory processes were effectively complete, including information requests, expert evidence and preparation for cross-examination,” the statement said.

“Rather than being disclosed openly and in a timely manner, the material was introduced without notice, emailed though (sic) while a RIGS motions hearing was in process and consists largely of redacted, confidential, and confidential-restricted documents.”

AWI’s statement accused NB Power of blindsiding interveners who have spent months reviewing what they thought was a complete application.

“Only to be confronted at the 11^th hour with material that appears to fundamentally alter the project under construction,” the statement said.

Specifically, AWI said the new material suggests a potential expansion or restructuring of the project, adding an additional 100 megawatts of power in contract with the province of Nova Scotia.

AWI said the potential changes could have direct implications on several fronts, including:

• Project economics and risk allocation
• Ratepayer exposure
• The assessment of need
• Alternatives analysis
• NB Power’s least-cost planning obligations

But even with the significance of those implications, AWI said interveners haven’t been given the opportunity file information requests on the new material, submit responsive or expert evidence, review or challenge confidentiality claims, or prepare cross-examination based on a stable and complete evidentiary record.

“Compounding concerns, NB Power acknowledged that the agreement may have been signed as early as Dec. 31, 2025, raising serious questions about why it was withheld from interveners, the public and the (EUB), including during the January motions day,” AWI said.

AWI said the latest NB Power move follows the utility’s insistence on “an artificially rushed hearing schedule,” which NB Power said is necessary to meet an April 2 contract deadline with ProEnergy.

“That compressed timeline forced interveners into an accelerated process, a constraint now being used to justify the late introduction of material evidence,” AWI’s press release said, adding it creates chaos days before the hearing begins.

Interveners also argued a pattern is emerging, showing a lack of transparency and respect for the regulatory process by NB Power.