Audit ordered after soaring N.B. Power bills anger thousands of customers
CBC
N.B. Power will undergo an independent audit after thousands of customer complaints about December power bills, which for many were hundreds of dollars higher than expected.
Announcing the audit Tuesday afternoon, Energy Minister René Legacy told reporters he had asked NB Power to have the findings ready for public accounts by Feb. 18.
The date of NB Power's appearance at public accounts is not yet confirmed and will be set by the committee.
Premier Susan Holt said the government had been working for a week to understand why increases of $200 to $500 — or up to 1,500 kilowatt hours — had shown up on power bills.
"We've been listening to New Brunswickers and we share your concerns about expensive power bills," Holt told reporters.
"We heard from a large volume of New Brunswickers … with really significant spikes in power bills that were unexpected, that didn't go to trend and we want to get to the bottom of this."
She said her caucus met with N.B. Power representatives on Jan. 20 to get a better understanding of the issue, but "that conversation left us with more questions."
Legacy said he had meetings with the N.B. Power board over the last 10 days, and the utility has agreed to an independent review.
"They also share the concern that if there are any significant concerns from New Brunswickers, whether their system is compromised, that is an issue for them too, so they want to get to the bottom of it," Legacy said.
Holt said the Liberal government isn't ruling anything out now, but this could simply have been a "perfect storm of pain for New Brunswickers."
Earlier in the day, Lori Clark, the president and CEO of the Crown corporation, said system audits suggested a change in consumption by N.B, Power's customers was the cause.
She said December was the first cold month since rates increased by 9.8 per cent last spring. December was also on average three degrees colder than the December before, and the billing cycle for some customers was as long as 33 days, she said.
A one-time debit of $11 was added for some customers last month, to comply with the Energy and Utilities Board's order to keep distinct service charges for rural and urban customers.
When asked if she would consider a freeze on power rates, Holt said her focus is figuring out what happened in this situation first.
Two years after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared she was taking the unprecedented step of moving to confiscate millions of dollars from a sanctioned Russian oligarch with assets in Canada, the government has not actually begun the court process to forfeit the money, let alone to hand it over to Ukrainian reconstruction — and it may never happen.
Alberta business and oilpatch leaders are returning home from Washington this week after the U.S. presidential inauguration festivities — and gritting their teeth after a roller-coaster of emotions.
Youth workers in Toronto's Jane and Finch area are flipping the script on negative stereotypes about their communities with a new fundraising campaign that offers anti-bias training in exchange for donations to bolster their programming.
In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.
Memorial University's campus renewal fee was designed to pay for the institution's most pressing deferred maintenance projects like its asbestos-riddled tunnel system and mould.
The mother of Ahmad Al Marrach described a life devoid of joy and affection in the aftermath of her son's death as victim impact statements were read Tuesday in a Halifax courtroom.
N.B. Power will undergo an independent audit after thousands of customer complaints about December power bills, which for many were hundreds of dollars higher than expected.
A man with a muscle-wasting disease is pleased Manitoba is asking a federal agency to reconsider its opposition to a treatment for adults over 25, but he argues that time is running out in his case.
A Saskatoon man once accused of murdering James Swift testified Tuesday how the 40-year-old ended up in a car on a dirt road north of the city with the men charged with killing him.
A Court of King's Bench in Regina has dismissed a legal challenge to the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability program.
The man accused of orchestrating a string of arsons connected to extortion cases targeting South Asian home builders in Edmonton has been arrested overseas.
Facing a legal challenge over its decision to close several supervised consumption sites, the Ontario government has hired outside investigators to gather information about the sites.
The City of Summerside is looking into purchasing the Silver Fox Entertainment Complex as the facility deals with financial challenges.
A judge with the Court of King's Bench of Alberta has certified a class-action lawsuit that alleges school staff knew and "failed to respond properly to the many disclosures of abuse" made by students against two teachers at John Ware Junior High School.
British Columbians should rethink their vacations to the United States in light of Donald Trump's tariff threat, Premier David Eby said Tuesday.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford's office has responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's intentions to impose tariffs on Canadian goods next week by sending an internal email to Progressive Conservative staffers, telling them the majority government needs a stronger mandate to effectively negotiate during a potential trade war.
WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
When three of Justin Trudeau's ministers came to the microphone set up in the lobby of the rustically palatial Château Montebello in western Quebec on Monday afternoon, the mood seemed to be one of relief. There may have even been a vague sense of achievement.