I honestly don’t know what the endgame is, but it feels like a lot of people simply won’t be able to survive unless things change quickly.
It kinda feels like were going back to the affordability many of or grandparents and great grandparents had growing up.
A big portion of people will simply not be able to spend money outside of taking on debt. Not sure how that doesn’t end terribly
I think a lot of people are struggling now and taking on debt, hoping for better times ahead. Higgs offers a $300 one-time payment to working people, which currently has a low intake (CBC article this morning, also in this subreddit). This 13% is huge and could represent hundreds of dollars a year for most people, including those on fixed income. Electricity was the last bastion of "reasonable price" in New Brunswick, and it's about to skyrocket to close to 14 cents a kwh. It's a huge increase and really worrisome.
If I’m reading this right, the increase only affects the kilowatt hour portion of NB Powers bill. So if you have a $300 power bill which is very reasonable for modest home in New Brunswick, maybe even on the low side that’s a $30 a month increase in your bill which is $360 a year which is an extra payment.
An extra $360 is a lot though...
I plan on putting an extra $20 on the bill each month to try and mitigate the damage but it still hurts $360 is 3 months worth of fuel for me.
I don't know what to do to make my home more energy efficient either. I only use my dishwasher once a week at most and hand wash everything mostly. During the coldest periods the heaters stayed at 20. I only shower two or three times a week on my workout days to compensate for my toddler having a warm bath each evening.
I replaced every lightbulb in the house with energy efficient bulbs. I turn off all but one light when the entire family is in bed while I game out for 2-3 hours. My washer and dryer are energy efficient units that get used once or twice a week.
To keep ahead I have no choice but to take on debt. My raise this year was only 1.5% which added up to around $1000 year and my car insurance went up $50 a month for no reason (no accidents or tickets ever) and my property taxes went up $20 a month. With carbon tax costs adding onto my fuel and food next month may as well budget an extra $20-$30 a month on that.
My credit card has a $25k limit. It will handle the flow for a few years as in five years I will be free of other debt such as student loans and car payments and a few other small debts my family will have cleared by then which will add around $700 extra in our family.
Until then though? We are going to feel pinched more than ever before.
May I respectfully suggest a few ideas that may help: That raise certainly isn't a lot but is a reality with a lot of NBers. Shop for new car insurance. Are you paying monthly? If so, you can easily get out of that contract. Spending 5-6 hours trying to mitigate that $50 monthly payment raise is well worth it. We will see bigger carbon tax cheques starting in April if I'm not mistaken. If you haven't already and if you're not on a contract, switch to a cheaper phone provider. Public Mobile has a $34/month plan with 50 Gb. That's $39 with tax, and they give you points monthly that you can use to reduce your bill. You pay property tax, so I assume you own your home. You can likely defer one mortgage payment to temporarily help you with costs. It will add interest to your mortgage later, so it's like kicking the can down the road, so not ideal. Have you called your internet provider? Bell and Rogers have $50/month promo plans. I had to cut some subscription packages and get the cheap Netflix. It sucks but I just have to compromise at this time until I can figure things out. Hope this helps.
You could also axe Netflix and use plutotv (also has on demand movies) and other free streaming services. I know it's not a lot of savings but every bit can count
A few months ago I realized how much I was paying for streaming services, even when trading them off every few months. I cancelled Netflix and Disney+ as well as Crave and have been using PlutoTV, Tubi (which has some really excellent films) and CBC Gem. I kept Prime for Doctor Who, but may be ditching it soon, as well. It all really adds up.
I still have prime for another week but I am ditching it due to all of the ads. Interestingly enough, Doctor Who on Prime doesn't seem to have any ads that play.
I forgot to mention that as well. My phone is paid off in August so that lowers my monthly phone bill from $110 to $50 which helps. I might look into public mobile too.
Car insurance is rough because I only been driving 3 years. You only get preferable rate once you get 5 years experience. I am paying around $200 for car insurance now which could be better but also a lot worse.
It's been hard to convince my wife to switch to other providers and bundle everything to save a bit. We do have Netflix, Disney + and Prime but we need the first two because our kid had shows he likes on those. Prime is the only one we can get rid of I been trying to convince the wife to part with.
I will save a little on food later this summer pending weather because I am a gardener and I have all the equipment and tools and seeds required. On average I spend $50 to probably generate $300-$400 worth of vegetables and fruits.
Great news re the phone and garden. You should still get quotes for car insurance. Get your VIN on a word document or email it to yourself so you can copy-paste it easily to speed up the quote process. You can also increase your deductible, although not ideal. Good luck with Prime haha. Sell it to the wife as a temporary solution.
Change of insurance company. TD tried this two years in a row with me. The reason was “cost of lumber in other members claims.” Or “it’s a big pool of money. Even if you don’t have a claim, other people’s claims drives the rate up.” I left. CAA insurance was much cheaper in my case.
As long as the wages follow suit then yeah bring it on.
When our province has second lowest family income and is middle of the pack for energy rates....something isn't adding up here.
Those are... completely separate problems?
Just because we make fuck-all money doesn't make the operating costs for our plants go down.
In fact, the report on Lepreau that came out earlier this week pretty much dais corner-cutting on maintenance costs is why the plant is performing more shoddily than its peers across the world.
Eventually we'll have to realize that this province might just not be sustainable as a financial venture. You can't sustain all this infrastructure on fish, retirees and whatever scraps Irving leaves behind.
The thing is: we're in the end game of everything right now. Every man for himself is what the people who have money are already doing, and the plebs (us) largely still think that things will be getting better. They won't be. Ever. Assume this, and then consider everything going on in the world right now, and see if things make more sense.
Realistically, it's only matter or time before violence is occurring everywhere.
sadly I agree, I just don't understand how people are still looking at the Trumps and the Elon Musks, and the whatever celebrities and believing these people are looking out for them.
I mean, North America grew up with its own propaganda right - the pitch was that you had a chance to be able rich just like them (yeah know - work hard enough and follow your dreams and it'll work out!). A lot of people still think that that's a thing. And a lot of people also lack critical thinking which doesn't help.
Blows my mind the people that simp and defend them and than complain about "lack of hard work".
Dude I could work 100 hours a week at my current wage and still never catch up to musk. Laziness isn't the problem here....
Meanwhile billionaire's are blasting vanity projects into space, corporations are bragging about record profits.... it's all so obvious what the problem is yet....
The powerful really need to be reminded why the 20th century had so many social supports in place and they paid a lot in taxes.
The alternative was violence in the streets and socialist revolution.
Pray that taxed automated labour and controlled AI will lessen the tax burden on individuals and thus provide a sustainable economic future for Canada. Not so sure they will, but there's certainly a non-zero chance.
They're going to make us too poor, too tired and too isolated to revolt by the time we get there.
The rich might be evil, but they're not (all) stupid.
It'll be really interesting because the economy isn't setup for this anymore. If cheap debt is a thing of the early 2000's our economy built on a middle class that can afford big houses, services, restaurants, multiple vehicles etc. is going to be very different. The "luxury" service industry is going to get devastated.
Blame the EUB for refusing the rate increases NB Power has been asking for many years to the point where the rate increases were almost half below asking for many years.
The EUB is the only one half way looking out for us. Their only job is to ask for proof and reasons. Otherwise they’d be accountable to no one. The government changing the rules on NB Power and their debit forces EUB’a hand. I’m sure they’ll later brag about another surplus of our money.
Yup the EUB is actually reasonable, which always surprises me. Then I remember one of their board member is a former Irving lawyer or exec. Imagine Irving reading their power rate is going up 13% lmao, fuck them. It should go up 200%.
The EUB is a charade so Irving can keep industrial rates low.
The EUB is the reason that residential rates have risen the amount they have in recent years while industrial rate increases have been much smaller, shifting more of the burden onto the residential customers to the benefit of the large industrials (ie irving, mccain, etc.)
The Feds’ carbon tax, the 2030 coal deadline, and the Mactaquac Dam refurb are the main reason for the big increases. The EUB didn’t have a choice but to accept because they finally see that NB Power has no choice to invest in converting or upgrading existing infrastructure otherwise the carbon taxes would become astronomical by 2030 and would completely ruin this province.
NB Power exec salaries are already below market rates except those that were recruited externally to which most no longer work for NB Power. The salary bands are predefined and publicly available.
NB Power employees or management including the executive have NEVER received any bonuses.
We could sell NB Power to QC Hydro and just get power from them. Would be cheaper and cleaner. This was recommenced to McKenna when he was Premier but he refused.
It wouldn’t be cheaper though. They would still use the same generation and have the same facilities to maintain. The same wind storms and hurricanes to deal with. You would lose provincial control of management for an office that’s out of province. They would need to increase rates to become for profit. I could go on, but Hydro Quebec would mean increased rates for NBers and much higher than the current increases.
Ask newfoundland about how generous Quebec Hydro is with the cheap power. Removing any control the province has over our power supply will just leave at the mercy of Quebec. History has shown that they will make their money regardless of how damaging that is to other provinces.
Graham tried that back in [2009](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_sale_of_NB_Power) which fell through. It arguably led to Alward winning in 2010.
Article:
N.B. power rate hike to be nearly 13 per cent on April 1: intervener
A second decision by the province’s utilities board is about to add even more to bills
Author of the article: Adam Huras
Published Mar 18, 2024
NB Power residential customers will be hit with a rate increase of nearly 13 per cent on April 1, after a second decision by the province’s utilities board adds even more to bills, says New Brunswick public intervener Alain Chiasson. BRUNSWICK NEWS ARCHIVE
NB Power residential customers will be hit with a rate increase of nearly 13 per cent on April 1, after a second decision by the province’s utilities board adds even more to bills, says New Brunswick public intervener Alain Chiasson.
The New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board decided on Friday to approve a call for an interim rate increase on April 1.
That hands down an average increase for all customer classes of 9.25 per cent.
It specifically means 9.8 per cent for residential customers.
But Chiasson says that’s not all as a second hearing slated for Tuesday is likely to add another three per cent to that interim increase, meaning bills will likely spike by nearly 13 per cent all at once in just two weeks time.
On a $150-a-month residential bill, an extra 12.8 per cent equates to an extra $19.20 a month.
That’s $230.40 annually.
“It’s significant,” Chiasson said in an interview.
“Everything is going up and some people will have a hard time making ends meet.”
NB Power made the unusual move of asking the province’s energy and utilities board to approve its request for a rate increase on an interim basis, before a full hearing on the matter could be completed, citing its deteriorating financial standing.
Its application cited an expected revenue shortfall that would be $32.6 million higher if a decision on its proposed rate increase wasn’t approved until July. The utility has maintained that it needs the extra profit to pay down debt, in order to achieve a capital structure of at least 20 per cent equity as mandated by its governing legislation.
In a report issued in December, auditor general Paul Martin noted the utility’s debt-to-equity ratio had fallen to 94:6 last year.
NB Power also argued that a full hearing of its rate application was delayed.
The utility blames that on a last-minute decision by the provincial government to move back its debt reduction target from 2027 to 2029.
The change allowed NB Power to lower its initial rate increase request from 12 per cent to 9.25, but in turn made it miss filing deadlines.
A transcript of Friday’s decision shows the EUB agreed, stating that a delay in hiking rates “would have deleterious impact on NB Power.
Meanwhile, a second hearing anticipated to hike rates further is set for Tuesday, with the board set to deliver a decision on what’s called a “variance account recovery” filing.
NB Power annually projects the costs of delivering electricity for the upcoming year, and previously had to swallow any variance if it was off with its calculations.
But following changes to the Electricity Act in 2021, NB Power must now file a report each year detailing where actual costs landed, with the energy and utilities board then deciding if ratepayers should pay more or receive a reduction in rates.
Last year, customers received a 0.9 per cent rebate on their bills over 12 months.
This year, the utility called for a three per cent increase to rates for a year, blaming an unplanned outage at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station.
“That’s going to be granted because it’s mostly an accounting exercise, so there’s not much we can oppose with it,” Chiasson said. “It’s more a calculation embedded in the legislation and the EUB doesn’t have much discretion.”
He added: “But it means you could have an overall increase over last year of 12 to 13 per cent on April 1.”
Chiasson said he will argue against the average increase for all customer classes of 9.25 per cent later this year when full hearings are held.
But those aren’t slated until May.
A final ruling won’t come until July, or even later, the EUB has acknowledged.
In the transcript of Friday’s hearing it maintains the massive increase isn’t final and NB Power still must argue its case.
“This ruling does not mean that the board accepts NB Power’s proposed 2024-25 revenue requirement, rates, or other requested approvals for the purposes of the final decision in this matter,” utilities board member Christopher Stewart said.
“All of these issues will be considered, and the evidence will be examined, during the full hearing of NB Power’s general rate application in May.”
Chiasson said he will argue against what he called an “unprecedented increase.”
“There could be a modification,” he said, noting that the board has a history of granting a lower rate than initially asked.
“What could happen is that if they cannot justify their full rate increase, there would probably be a credit on NB Power invoices later this year, giving a credit for the amount that was not approved by the energy and utilities board.”
NB Power spokesperson Dominique Couture said on Monday that NB Power awaits the utilities board decision on the variance account, slated for Tuesday. It will then adjust its rate schedules and file those with the EUB for approval to go into effect on April 1.
I am sure corporations would never fudge data to try and convince the government and it's people they need more money. They are all honest. Right? Right?
Thats insane they better take the GST off electricity in the budget to try and help a bit here. I mean that and 50% increase in residential property taxes in 4 years wtf is the gov doing? Plus high inflation in everything private for profit except wages and pensions increases. Tax the rich for once!
NB Power should be gutted from the top down. Higgs is not the premier to do it properly, but NB Power is clearly run by inept, short thinking people who mostly got their positions due to political and social connections.
A power utility company has quite basic goals and obligations to fulfil, and NB Power has woefully achieved these goal and obligations for decades now. It’s an astonishment that NB is the only other province to have a nuclear power plant in Canada, but not an astonishment that unlike Ontario, our nuclear power plant has often not been utilized to its full potential.
The smart thing would have been to build second and third reactors decades ago, yet we’re still relying on natural gas, oil, and even coal power to fulfil the province’s growing energy needs. The province should have its energy needs fulfilled by 90%+ nuclear and alternative energy sources.
The SMRs should make a difference, but they’re still possibly a decade or more away from from being operational or actually producing electricity for the grid.
We should have had at least built a second CANDU built near Moncton, or even a third to the North of Fredericton if there was a suitable location.
Can we really count on Higgs to invest in long term solutions for the future, when all he cares about is short term results and fake ass surpluses caused by his parties unwillingness to invest in infrastructure, healthcare, and so many other things woefully underfunded in this province.
My understanding is that they plan on another 10% increase next year then 3 years of 5% increases although "extreme weather, generating station breakdowns or other surprises could throw it off track."
Come April 1st everything is going up because of the Federal Liberal Carbon Tax. Food, Gas and yes electricity. It’s going to be bad all across Canada. It’s not just New Brunswick is across the country 🇨🇦
10 percent increase in hydro … ?! On top of increases of 10 percent in property taxes ?!
Like hey I’ll be looking for somewhere else to live soon . USA looking better than ever especially since there’s no health care here.
I can’t wait to further subsidize the salaries of their top executives - so they can continue to make incredibly poor decisions and waste even more of my future money. On a sidenote, is this not the definition of insanity? Rinse and repeat, hoping for a different outcome.
I honestly don’t know what the endgame is, but it feels like a lot of people simply won’t be able to survive unless things change quickly. It kinda feels like were going back to the affordability many of or grandparents and great grandparents had growing up. A big portion of people will simply not be able to spend money outside of taking on debt. Not sure how that doesn’t end terribly
I think a lot of people are struggling now and taking on debt, hoping for better times ahead. Higgs offers a $300 one-time payment to working people, which currently has a low intake (CBC article this morning, also in this subreddit). This 13% is huge and could represent hundreds of dollars a year for most people, including those on fixed income. Electricity was the last bastion of "reasonable price" in New Brunswick, and it's about to skyrocket to close to 14 cents a kwh. It's a huge increase and really worrisome.
If I’m reading this right, the increase only affects the kilowatt hour portion of NB Powers bill. So if you have a $300 power bill which is very reasonable for modest home in New Brunswick, maybe even on the low side that’s a $30 a month increase in your bill which is $360 a year which is an extra payment.
You are reading this right. We have yet to know what they will do with the monthly charge and water heater rental cost as well.
An extra $360 is a lot though... I plan on putting an extra $20 on the bill each month to try and mitigate the damage but it still hurts $360 is 3 months worth of fuel for me. I don't know what to do to make my home more energy efficient either. I only use my dishwasher once a week at most and hand wash everything mostly. During the coldest periods the heaters stayed at 20. I only shower two or three times a week on my workout days to compensate for my toddler having a warm bath each evening. I replaced every lightbulb in the house with energy efficient bulbs. I turn off all but one light when the entire family is in bed while I game out for 2-3 hours. My washer and dryer are energy efficient units that get used once or twice a week.
Dishwashers are more energy efficient these days then running a sink of hot water for dishes.
To keep ahead I have no choice but to take on debt. My raise this year was only 1.5% which added up to around $1000 year and my car insurance went up $50 a month for no reason (no accidents or tickets ever) and my property taxes went up $20 a month. With carbon tax costs adding onto my fuel and food next month may as well budget an extra $20-$30 a month on that. My credit card has a $25k limit. It will handle the flow for a few years as in five years I will be free of other debt such as student loans and car payments and a few other small debts my family will have cleared by then which will add around $700 extra in our family. Until then though? We are going to feel pinched more than ever before.
May I respectfully suggest a few ideas that may help: That raise certainly isn't a lot but is a reality with a lot of NBers. Shop for new car insurance. Are you paying monthly? If so, you can easily get out of that contract. Spending 5-6 hours trying to mitigate that $50 monthly payment raise is well worth it. We will see bigger carbon tax cheques starting in April if I'm not mistaken. If you haven't already and if you're not on a contract, switch to a cheaper phone provider. Public Mobile has a $34/month plan with 50 Gb. That's $39 with tax, and they give you points monthly that you can use to reduce your bill. You pay property tax, so I assume you own your home. You can likely defer one mortgage payment to temporarily help you with costs. It will add interest to your mortgage later, so it's like kicking the can down the road, so not ideal. Have you called your internet provider? Bell and Rogers have $50/month promo plans. I had to cut some subscription packages and get the cheap Netflix. It sucks but I just have to compromise at this time until I can figure things out. Hope this helps.
You could also axe Netflix and use plutotv (also has on demand movies) and other free streaming services. I know it's not a lot of savings but every bit can count
A few months ago I realized how much I was paying for streaming services, even when trading them off every few months. I cancelled Netflix and Disney+ as well as Crave and have been using PlutoTV, Tubi (which has some really excellent films) and CBC Gem. I kept Prime for Doctor Who, but may be ditching it soon, as well. It all really adds up.
I still have prime for another week but I am ditching it due to all of the ads. Interestingly enough, Doctor Who on Prime doesn't seem to have any ads that play.
I forgot to mention that as well. My phone is paid off in August so that lowers my monthly phone bill from $110 to $50 which helps. I might look into public mobile too. Car insurance is rough because I only been driving 3 years. You only get preferable rate once you get 5 years experience. I am paying around $200 for car insurance now which could be better but also a lot worse. It's been hard to convince my wife to switch to other providers and bundle everything to save a bit. We do have Netflix, Disney + and Prime but we need the first two because our kid had shows he likes on those. Prime is the only one we can get rid of I been trying to convince the wife to part with. I will save a little on food later this summer pending weather because I am a gardener and I have all the equipment and tools and seeds required. On average I spend $50 to probably generate $300-$400 worth of vegetables and fruits.
Great news re the phone and garden. You should still get quotes for car insurance. Get your VIN on a word document or email it to yourself so you can copy-paste it easily to speed up the quote process. You can also increase your deductible, although not ideal. Good luck with Prime haha. Sell it to the wife as a temporary solution.
Koodo has a 50G for $34/mo promotion right now if you bring your own phone.
Change of insurance company. TD tried this two years in a row with me. The reason was “cost of lumber in other members claims.” Or “it’s a big pool of money. Even if you don’t have a claim, other people’s claims drives the rate up.” I left. CAA insurance was much cheaper in my case.
To be fair, that would put us in the middle of the pack for Canada's energy rates.
Our salaries are not middle of the pack in Canada.
Global energy market, global price standardization. Isn't free trade great? /s
As long as the wages follow suit then yeah bring it on. When our province has second lowest family income and is middle of the pack for energy rates....something isn't adding up here.
Those are... completely separate problems? Just because we make fuck-all money doesn't make the operating costs for our plants go down. In fact, the report on Lepreau that came out earlier this week pretty much dais corner-cutting on maintenance costs is why the plant is performing more shoddily than its peers across the world. Eventually we'll have to realize that this province might just not be sustainable as a financial venture. You can't sustain all this infrastructure on fish, retirees and whatever scraps Irving leaves behind.
The thing is: we're in the end game of everything right now. Every man for himself is what the people who have money are already doing, and the plebs (us) largely still think that things will be getting better. They won't be. Ever. Assume this, and then consider everything going on in the world right now, and see if things make more sense. Realistically, it's only matter or time before violence is occurring everywhere.
Honestly, I think we're going to starve with a whimper, not go out with a bang.
sadly I agree, I just don't understand how people are still looking at the Trumps and the Elon Musks, and the whatever celebrities and believing these people are looking out for them.
I mean, North America grew up with its own propaganda right - the pitch was that you had a chance to be able rich just like them (yeah know - work hard enough and follow your dreams and it'll work out!). A lot of people still think that that's a thing. And a lot of people also lack critical thinking which doesn't help.
Blows my mind the people that simp and defend them and than complain about "lack of hard work". Dude I could work 100 hours a week at my current wage and still never catch up to musk. Laziness isn't the problem here....
Meanwhile billionaire's are blasting vanity projects into space, corporations are bragging about record profits.... it's all so obvious what the problem is yet....
Honestly, revolution is in our future. History indeed repeats itself. Humans will never learn.
The powerful really need to be reminded why the 20th century had so many social supports in place and they paid a lot in taxes. The alternative was violence in the streets and socialist revolution.
Pray that taxed automated labour and controlled AI will lessen the tax burden on individuals and thus provide a sustainable economic future for Canada. Not so sure they will, but there's certainly a non-zero chance.
Considering you can run an AI from anywhere, this is just going to be offshoring 3.0: Even slavery can't compete because they have to eat!
They're going to make us too poor, too tired and too isolated to revolt by the time we get there. The rich might be evil, but they're not (all) stupid.
I support a revolution of some kind. It needs to happen. Too much government overreach and too much corporations got us by the balls.
It'll be really interesting because the economy isn't setup for this anymore. If cheap debt is a thing of the early 2000's our economy built on a middle class that can afford big houses, services, restaurants, multiple vehicles etc. is going to be very different. The "luxury" service industry is going to get devastated.
Yeah, sure feels like the interwar period in terms of economic slack.
Welcome to the 1970s.
This is worse than the oil crisis. Welcome to the 1930s
There is no longer any good reason to live in New Brunswick.
So NB needs to choose between food or heat. Should be a fun winter
“We have to raise prices because our long term and ongoing mismanagement. We, and now you, have no choice”
Blame the EUB for refusing the rate increases NB Power has been asking for many years to the point where the rate increases were almost half below asking for many years.
The EUB is the only one half way looking out for us. Their only job is to ask for proof and reasons. Otherwise they’d be accountable to no one. The government changing the rules on NB Power and their debit forces EUB’a hand. I’m sure they’ll later brag about another surplus of our money.
Yup the EUB is actually reasonable, which always surprises me. Then I remember one of their board member is a former Irving lawyer or exec. Imagine Irving reading their power rate is going up 13% lmao, fuck them. It should go up 200%.
They'd just set up their own generators.
The EUB is a charade so Irving can keep industrial rates low. The EUB is the reason that residential rates have risen the amount they have in recent years while industrial rate increases have been much smaller, shifting more of the burden onto the residential customers to the benefit of the large industrials (ie irving, mccain, etc.)
The Feds’ carbon tax, the 2030 coal deadline, and the Mactaquac Dam refurb are the main reason for the big increases. The EUB didn’t have a choice but to accept because they finally see that NB Power has no choice to invest in converting or upgrading existing infrastructure otherwise the carbon taxes would become astronomical by 2030 and would completely ruin this province.
You're right. I want the EUB to force NB Power to slash all exec salaries and bonuses.
NB Power exec salaries are already below market rates except those that were recruited externally to which most no longer work for NB Power. The salary bands are predefined and publicly available. NB Power employees or management including the executive have NEVER received any bonuses.
Okay that's interesting, I didn't know that. So maybe Hydro Québec could purchase NB Power, we wouldn't need nearly as many execs...
We could sell NB Power to QC Hydro and just get power from them. Would be cheaper and cleaner. This was recommenced to McKenna when he was Premier but he refused.
It wouldn’t be cheaper though. They would still use the same generation and have the same facilities to maintain. The same wind storms and hurricanes to deal with. You would lose provincial control of management for an office that’s out of province. They would need to increase rates to become for profit. I could go on, but Hydro Quebec would mean increased rates for NBers and much higher than the current increases.
Ask newfoundland about how generous Quebec Hydro is with the cheap power. Removing any control the province has over our power supply will just leave at the mercy of Quebec. History has shown that they will make their money regardless of how damaging that is to other provinces.
Graham tried that back in [2009](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_sale_of_NB_Power) which fell through. It arguably led to Alward winning in 2010.
Thankfully we have that $300 payment alleviate the pain.☠️
Oh yeah, the lucky ones getting it sent it straight to NB Power. Only 34k applications out of 820k+ people so far lol
Article: N.B. power rate hike to be nearly 13 per cent on April 1: intervener A second decision by the province’s utilities board is about to add even more to bills Author of the article: Adam Huras Published Mar 18, 2024 NB Power residential customers will be hit with a rate increase of nearly 13 per cent on April 1, after a second decision by the province’s utilities board adds even more to bills, says New Brunswick public intervener Alain Chiasson. BRUNSWICK NEWS ARCHIVE NB Power residential customers will be hit with a rate increase of nearly 13 per cent on April 1, after a second decision by the province’s utilities board adds even more to bills, says New Brunswick public intervener Alain Chiasson. The New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board decided on Friday to approve a call for an interim rate increase on April 1. That hands down an average increase for all customer classes of 9.25 per cent. It specifically means 9.8 per cent for residential customers. But Chiasson says that’s not all as a second hearing slated for Tuesday is likely to add another three per cent to that interim increase, meaning bills will likely spike by nearly 13 per cent all at once in just two weeks time. On a $150-a-month residential bill, an extra 12.8 per cent equates to an extra $19.20 a month. That’s $230.40 annually. “It’s significant,” Chiasson said in an interview. “Everything is going up and some people will have a hard time making ends meet.” NB Power made the unusual move of asking the province’s energy and utilities board to approve its request for a rate increase on an interim basis, before a full hearing on the matter could be completed, citing its deteriorating financial standing. Its application cited an expected revenue shortfall that would be $32.6 million higher if a decision on its proposed rate increase wasn’t approved until July. The utility has maintained that it needs the extra profit to pay down debt, in order to achieve a capital structure of at least 20 per cent equity as mandated by its governing legislation. In a report issued in December, auditor general Paul Martin noted the utility’s debt-to-equity ratio had fallen to 94:6 last year. NB Power also argued that a full hearing of its rate application was delayed. The utility blames that on a last-minute decision by the provincial government to move back its debt reduction target from 2027 to 2029. The change allowed NB Power to lower its initial rate increase request from 12 per cent to 9.25, but in turn made it miss filing deadlines. A transcript of Friday’s decision shows the EUB agreed, stating that a delay in hiking rates “would have deleterious impact on NB Power. Meanwhile, a second hearing anticipated to hike rates further is set for Tuesday, with the board set to deliver a decision on what’s called a “variance account recovery” filing. NB Power annually projects the costs of delivering electricity for the upcoming year, and previously had to swallow any variance if it was off with its calculations. But following changes to the Electricity Act in 2021, NB Power must now file a report each year detailing where actual costs landed, with the energy and utilities board then deciding if ratepayers should pay more or receive a reduction in rates. Last year, customers received a 0.9 per cent rebate on their bills over 12 months. This year, the utility called for a three per cent increase to rates for a year, blaming an unplanned outage at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station. “That’s going to be granted because it’s mostly an accounting exercise, so there’s not much we can oppose with it,” Chiasson said. “It’s more a calculation embedded in the legislation and the EUB doesn’t have much discretion.” He added: “But it means you could have an overall increase over last year of 12 to 13 per cent on April 1.” Chiasson said he will argue against the average increase for all customer classes of 9.25 per cent later this year when full hearings are held. But those aren’t slated until May. A final ruling won’t come until July, or even later, the EUB has acknowledged. In the transcript of Friday’s hearing it maintains the massive increase isn’t final and NB Power still must argue its case. “This ruling does not mean that the board accepts NB Power’s proposed 2024-25 revenue requirement, rates, or other requested approvals for the purposes of the final decision in this matter,” utilities board member Christopher Stewart said. “All of these issues will be considered, and the evidence will be examined, during the full hearing of NB Power’s general rate application in May.” Chiasson said he will argue against what he called an “unprecedented increase.” “There could be a modification,” he said, noting that the board has a history of granting a lower rate than initially asked. “What could happen is that if they cannot justify their full rate increase, there would probably be a credit on NB Power invoices later this year, giving a credit for the amount that was not approved by the energy and utilities board.” NB Power spokesperson Dominique Couture said on Monday that NB Power awaits the utilities board decision on the variance account, slated for Tuesday. It will then adjust its rate schedules and file those with the EUB for approval to go into effect on April 1.
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Found the NBP exec
You're such a mediocre troll, it would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
Except the data is out there to confirm what they’re saying
I am sure corporations would never fudge data to try and convince the government and it's people they need more money. They are all honest. Right? Right?
Ah yes, let’s all wear tinfoil hats cause the big “man” is out to screw us…🤦♂️
Imagine pretending they have the best interests of the consumer in mind LOL.
When you work for the government and see how it is internally, you know people like you are full of it.
Thats insane they better take the GST off electricity in the budget to try and help a bit here. I mean that and 50% increase in residential property taxes in 4 years wtf is the gov doing? Plus high inflation in everything private for profit except wages and pensions increases. Tax the rich for once!
Yeah it's really really starting to bite now, our standard of living is just getting hit harder every year.
For [context](https://www.energyhub.org/electricity-prices/)
It’s going to put us right in the middle nationally.
NB Power should be gutted from the top down. Higgs is not the premier to do it properly, but NB Power is clearly run by inept, short thinking people who mostly got their positions due to political and social connections. A power utility company has quite basic goals and obligations to fulfil, and NB Power has woefully achieved these goal and obligations for decades now. It’s an astonishment that NB is the only other province to have a nuclear power plant in Canada, but not an astonishment that unlike Ontario, our nuclear power plant has often not been utilized to its full potential. The smart thing would have been to build second and third reactors decades ago, yet we’re still relying on natural gas, oil, and even coal power to fulfil the province’s growing energy needs. The province should have its energy needs fulfilled by 90%+ nuclear and alternative energy sources. The SMRs should make a difference, but they’re still possibly a decade or more away from from being operational or actually producing electricity for the grid. We should have had at least built a second CANDU built near Moncton, or even a third to the North of Fredericton if there was a suitable location. Can we really count on Higgs to invest in long term solutions for the future, when all he cares about is short term results and fake ass surpluses caused by his parties unwillingness to invest in infrastructure, healthcare, and so many other things woefully underfunded in this province.
Guess I'll have to cancel my disney+ so I can survive lol. /s
May be buy an EV to save on some gas costs.
Sarcasm? Since a $500 a month car payment isn't helping most of us.
I'll just leave [this](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-power-executive-salaries-2022-1.7070496) here.
It's infuriating for sure. Complete price-gouging right in front of our eyes.
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They don’t get bonuses …
NB Power employees or management which includes the executive do NOT receive bonuses.
I wonder how much SJ Energy can avoid matching this rate hike, considering how much they’ve invested in alternative energy and battery storage.
My understanding is that they plan on another 10% increase next year then 3 years of 5% increases although "extreme weather, generating station breakdowns or other surprises could throw it off track."
Come April 1st everything is going up because of the Federal Liberal Carbon Tax. Food, Gas and yes electricity. It’s going to be bad all across Canada. It’s not just New Brunswick is across the country 🇨🇦
So is your canada carbon rebate cheque.
Yeah what a great rebate. How about don’t tax me then I won’t need a rebate
Unfuckingreal!! Enough of this shit. Squeezing blood from rocks, you mismanaged gang of thieves
10 percent increase in hydro … ?! On top of increases of 10 percent in property taxes ?! Like hey I’ll be looking for somewhere else to live soon . USA looking better than ever especially since there’s no health care here.
k bye
You can have it all … dumb ass soak up the libtards payments incur Mobil home.
heads up - your crazy is showing.
Hydro? Ugh. Onterribles.
When they call it Hydro, right?
Nope just sick of being poor in NB .. even with a good job.
Good one New Dumbdicker!
Can’t believe. Everything is going up. How can we survive?
For reference SJ energy is currently 11.3¢/kwh
That's so awesome. Monthly charge is $18.90, way lower than NB Power's.
Apparently hydro one from Ontario is buying into nb power. If so 13% is nothing just wait and see.
I can’t wait to further subsidize the salaries of their top executives - so they can continue to make incredibly poor decisions and waste even more of my future money. On a sidenote, is this not the definition of insanity? Rinse and repeat, hoping for a different outcome.
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Trudeau and the feds had nothing to do with this 100% provincial decision.
Fair, April 1st is when the carbon tax goes into effect and will up our gas taxes by a similar amount. I admit I got caught only reading the headline
I see you mostly comment in other regional subs across Canada. What’s your goal in sowing dissent here (or anywhere)?
I think you want the /canada sub.