Legislation Addresses Power Rates, Profits
Amendments to the Public Utilities Act introduced today, October 19, will help protect ratepayers from power rate increases related to Nova Scotia Power’s general rate application now before the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB).
Under the amendments, the NSUARB will not be allowed to approve an increase based on the utility’s costs except those for fuel and improving reliability of the grid. Any increases related to reliability cannot be more than 1.8 per cent over two years.
“Fuel costs are unavoidable – they have to be paid. But we are protecting ratepayers as best we can by controlling what we can control on other costs,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables. “About half of Nova Scotia Power’s costs are for fuel and half are for other things like operations and maintenance. We’re preventing power rate increases based on those other things unless they improve reliability of power services to Nova Scotians.”
Though the cost of fuel is high, the amendments cushion the impact for Nova Scotia ratepayers by not allowing the utility to also pass along most cost increases for operations and maintenance. …[Read More]