Liberals officially table province’s electricity plan
Posted Dec 1, 2015 01:35:00 PM.
Last Updated Dec 1, 2015 01:45:46 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – The province tabled its electricity plan in the legislature Tuesday afternoon which the governing Liberals say will bring long-term stability to electricity prices in Nova Scotia.
The plan, released Nov. 7, calls for fixed electricity rates from 2017 through 2019 with the costs averaged over three years.
It also calls for the Utility and Review Board to set clear performance standards for Nova Scotia Power, with up to $1 million in penalties if the utility doesn’t comply.
Transportation Minister Michel Samson officially tabled the plan in the house on Tuesday and dismissed opposition concerns a $1 million fine would be akin to a ‘slap on the wrist’ for a large company.
“The fact is there was no fines before, so we’ve gone from zero to a million dollars, that’s coming out of shareholders directly,” Samson said.
“I don’t suspect any company shareholders who would see a fine of a million dollars would be overly pleased,” Samson said, adding he expected a company would do everything it could to avoid being charged the hefty fine.
He said the penalty would be put against fuel charges and passed on savings to ratepayers.
Under the legislation, Nova Scotia Power has until April 30, 2016 to request a change to their general rate, before filing a plan to lock in costs over those three years.
Nova Scotia Power will continue to report its actual fuel costs, but no adjustments will be made for the three years between 2017 and 2019. A hearing will be held in 2019 with the goal of creating adjustments to kick in at the start of 2020.
The utility also released its new four-year plan earlier this month, predicting ratepayers would only see modest increases for fuel costs in their electricity bills through 2019.
President and CEO Bob Hanf said customers would see no non-fuel rate increases next year, and based on their current numbers the fuel costs would also be slightly down for 2016.
That’s still pending review from the province’s Utility and Review Board, but that could mean most customers could even see a slight decrease.
