Nova Scotia Power rate hike application assailed at review board hearing
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NDP Leader Claudia Chender, in her opening comments, introduced the board to the story of Gardiner Mines senior Linda MacDonald, who survives on a fixed income.
“She, like many people, worked hard their whole lives to be able to retire with dignity and enjoy life with friends and family,” Chender said.
“Linda, like many people, is doing her best to deal with rising costs. She and her family try to reduce their power use, but they still can’t keep up. An increase the size of the one proposed here will force Linda to choose between heating and eating this winter. She asks why after working for so long, she is now forced to choose between which bills get paid or what she will have to go without, to sacrifice this month, while executives, shareholders and CEOs get richer as she pays more.”
Chender said MacDonald also asks why the power in her home is so unreliable.
Her family has invested in a generator to make sure they can stay warm when their power is out, Chender said.
“A reliable grid is not too much ask for. How many seniors and families are forced to sit in the cold and dark because of preventable outages?
"This is only one of many stories that underline the real impact this rate hike will have on real people and highlights the total unfairness of proposed changes to their rate of return and reliability.”
Chender said Nova Scotians want an energy utility that ensures affordable, reliable and green energy.
“NSPI has demonstrated in this application that their core concern is the financial return for their shareholders,” Chender said, joining Liberal Leader Zach Churchill in urging the board to deny the utility’s application, which she said is untenable for Nova Scotian families and small businesses.
Chender said Nova Scotia Power has the highest rates among Canadian integrated utilities, and yet the grid is among the most unreliable, and the power among the dirtiest.
“This proposal comes on the heels of a once-in-a-generation inflationary crisis in which more and more Nova Scotians are squeezed to the brink. Despite this, NSPI wants to increase their allowable rate of return from 9.25 per cent to 9.5 per cent, while further increasing their profit by withholding 50 per cent of over-earnings from customers.”
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