Public hearings to begin as Emera seeks $1.7B from ratepayers for Maritime Link
CBC
Halifax-based Emera is expected to appear Monday before the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board as public hearings begin on its application to recover $1.7 billion from Nova Scotia Power customers.
It is the final bill for the Maritime Link — the subsea and overhead transmission system Emera built to carry clean, green electricity from the Muskrat Fall hydro project in Labrador into Nova Scotia for the next 35 years.
But the company is being challenged by advocates for Nova Scotia Power customer groups who say full recovery is premature given that only a fraction of the contracted electricity from Muskrat Falls is being delivered.
"There's a real question whether or not that condition has been met," said lawyer Bill Mahody, who represents Nova Scotia Power's 400,000 residential customers.
Ratepayers have shelled out $450 million for the Maritime Link since it was completed in 2018 by Emera subsidiary Nova Scotia Power Maritime Link.
It is the corporate entity before regulators.
Unlike Nalcor, its Newfoundland and Labrador partner in the Muskrat Falls hydro development, Emera built the Maritime Link on time and on budget.
Emera is guaranteed 20 per cent of hydro from Muskrat Falls, known as the Nova Scotia Block.
In August, Nalcor and Emera signed a so-called acceleration agreement where Nalcor agreed to deliver small amounts of the Nova Scotia Block, even though Muskrat Falls is still not fully operational.
No electricity was delivered in October. Still, the first shipment of the Nova Scotia Block was enough for Emera to submit its final bill.
Emera is seeking $169 million from ratepayers in 2022. That has already been factored into rates. It's also asking for $12 million in bonuses paid to executives on the project and $1.4 million in charitable donations and sponsorships.
"Clearly the Maritime Link has been constructed and has been operational since 2018, that's not the end of the project. The end of the project and the goal of the project was the delivery of that Muskrat energy to Nova Scotia. And frankly, that just has not occurred on any timely basis," said Mahody.
Mahody calls the attempt to recover bonuses from ratepayers "a bitter pill."
Emera said it paid the bonuses between 2012 and 2020 as an incentive to retain executives on the project.
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