'Very profitable' NSP asking struggling ratepayers to fund legislated commitments, Chender says
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“What we do know … is how many different asks there are and all of the ways that those might actually impact the rates that people across the province are paying,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Monday in the wake of the application hearing wrapping up Friday.
“In addition to the rate increase that was asked, which now is likely to be condensed over two years, there is also a storm rider and decarbonized deferral accounts that can be charged back, and obviously, a fuel adjustment that’s going to have to be revisited in another year.
“There are lots of ways that people’s bills are going to continue to increase and lots of ways in which Nova Scotia Power is angling to make itself more profitable.”
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“This was a thousands of pages application and I think one of the really useful pieces of this hearing was just exposing how complicated it is, how complex it is and how important it is that we understand the scope of it,” Chender said.
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Chender said Nova Scotia Power was asked to provide some 70 additional information undertakings to the board during the hearing as part of the very technical and specialized application process.
“We really put ourselves in the hands of the UARB somewhat and this is why we have been advocating in the political realm to make sure the UARB has all of the tools it needs to properly and independently regulate Nova Scotia Power in the public interest,” Chender said.
“One of the things that we know the UARB can’t do is enforce a differential payment scheme in the same rate class. So, all residential ratepayers legally are required to pay the same rate. ... We’ve been pushing for a universal service program which would allow low-income Nova Scotians who simply cannot afford power to have a program that recognizes that having access to power in Nova Scotia is actually an essential service.”
Chender said government definitely has a role to create a regulatory environment that better serves Nova Scotians.
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“We have very little evidence that Nova Scotia Power has been doing even a fraction of the work that they need to do to comply with provincial legislation around decarbonization,” Chender said. “The last we heard, they are in talks to purchase more coal, they’re going to increase biomass, we’re told that some of the coal operations may actually be converted to natural gas. None of that moves us toward our 2030 commitments.
“It’s hard to believe that they are committed to decarbonizing, and again decarbonizing is not a moral option and it’s also not a legal option. We are committed to this in our provincial legislation and they are bound by that, so it’s very upsetting to see them asking for Nova Scotians who are struggling right now to pay additional money for this very profitable company to meet the commitments that it’s legislated to meet.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
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“We have a very unreliable utility. The notion that we have to pay more for them to do their basic service is a bit of a bitter pill to swallow but we acknowledge that climate change is changing the game in terms of extreme weather.
“Even if we accept that there is an additional charge that might have come into play for massive weather events, I cannot think of an argument why that money should not be returned to Nova Scotians, as it is now, if those come to pass.”
Chender said it’s another example in the application of the company attempting to enrich itself by presenting measures to help it do what it is required to do anyway.”