Ottawa approves $500M bailout to Nova Scotia Power to keep rates in check

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Ottawa approves $500M bailout to Nova Scotia Power to keep rates in check

By Michael Tutton

The ********* Press

Posted September 25, 2024 4:24 pm

1 min read

Descrease article font size

Increase article font size

Ottawa has finalized a $500-million bailout to help Nova Scotia Power keep rates from skyrocketing due to delivery delays of Muskrat Falls electricity.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

Emera, the parent company of Nova Scotia Power, confirmed the deal — first announced Sept. 16 by federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson — in a news release Tuesday.

The loan guarantee will reduce the amount the utility needs to recoup from customers for higher-priced fuel purchased due to the delivery delays.

Wilkinson has said without the loan guarantee, average power rates might have gone up by close to 20 per cent over several years, while Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg has said he expects the loan would keep rate increases to “around the rate of inflation.”

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

The release from Emera says the federal loan guarantee will be spread over 28 years, lowering overall financing costs and helping stabilize Nova Scotia Power’s credit rating.

Story continues below advertisement

The Nova Scotia utility helped pay for construction of the underwater transmission link between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland that carries electricity generated by the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project in central Labrador.

But the massive dam and generating station has been inconsistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.

Trending Now

• data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

  Nearly 13K international students applied for asylum this year, data shows

• data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

  Trudeau Liberals survive ************* confidence vote in key test

While the 180-kilometre undersea link — known as the Maritime Link — was completed on time and on budget, Muskrat Falls has suffered through production difficulties and software problems within the Labrador-to-Newfoundland transmission system.

As a result, Nova Scotia homeowners and businesses didn’t receive all of the hydro power they expected, and Nova Scotia Power was forced to purchase more expensive fuels to boost production from their existing generating stations.

Nova Scotia Power started the regulatory process Wednesday to have the loan guarantee factored into the rate-setting formula.

This report by The ********* Press was first published Sept. 25, 2024.

More on Money
More videos

&copy 2024 The ********* Press

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Ottawa #approves #500M #bailout #Nova #Scotia #Power #rates #check

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up