Latest news with #NBPower
CTV News
6 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Date determined for first public information session of NB Power review
The first public information session for the review of NB Power has been scheduled. The session will be held on Wednesday via Zoom and can accommodate up to 5,000 participants, on a first-come, first-served basis. First announced in April, the review will be led by energy infrastructure and investment executive Michael Bernstein, lawyer and former privacy commissioner Anne E. Bertrand and utility expert Duncan Hawthorne. The trio will be responsible for gathering and analyzing data, speaking with members of the public, and developing recommendations for the utility moving forward based on their findings. 'This comprehensive review is a great opportunity to truly learn a great deal more about NB Power and, specifically, how well it is positioning itself for the future,' said Bertrand in a news release from the New Brunswick government. The province says the session will be recorded and made available on the review website. 'While participants will not have access to audio comments or video during the sessions, people are welcome to ask questions via the chat feature. Simultaneous translation will be provided,' reads the release. Details about future sessions will be shared in the weeks ahead, according to the government. The call for the review comes as utility bills continue to rise steeply across New Brunswick. The team leads say any recommendations made following the review will be heavily influenced by the voices and opinions of NB Power customers. New Brunswickers can share questions or concerns related to the review by emailing NBPReview-ExamenENB@ Final recommendations and any decisions related to the review aren't expected until March 2026. With files from CTV Atlantic's Avery MacRae. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
A cleaner future: Shediac, N.B., benefitting from province's largest solar farm
Take a look at the solar farm in Shediac, N.B. Take a look at the solar farm in Shediac, N.B. Shediac, N.B., a tourist town near Moncton, is quickly becoming one of the 'greenest' communities in Atlantic Canada, thanks to its solar farm and generating plant. The solar farm is the largest in New Brunswick with row upon row of solar panels waiting to soak up the sun. 'This is New Brunswick's first utility-scale solar farm,' says Sara Mudge, Senior Technical Lead at NB Power. 'We're so proud to bring the first one online. It's been up and running since 2023.' Mudge says the farm generates 1.63 megawatt hours of solar capacity. Enough to power about 90 homes annually. 'What the farm does today is it actually makes the federal pension centre and the Town of Shediac Multipurpose Centre net zero,' she said. Sara Mudge Senior Technical Lead at NB Power, Sara Mudge is pictured in front of Shediac, N.B.'s solar farm. (Josh Smith/CTV Atlantic) Shediac Mayor Roger Caissie says the town was a willing partner for the solar project. 'The initial conversation happened over 10 years ago following an ice storm of all things, where we had no power for about a day and a half,' he explains. 'This is good anywhere, but it's good for Shediac in terms of this provides green energy. This provides net-zero, no carbon.' Caissie said the farm's benefits extend beyond environmental considerations. 'This puts a power-generating facility right next to the town. Whatever it produces gets consumed without any loss of transmission.' The project was part of Smart Grid Atlantic, a federally funded program in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. NB Power and Nova Scotia Power received $35.66 million in federal funding for the joint pilot project. 'There's a call for about 200 megawatts of solar farms like this one that we have here,' Mudge said. 'Definitely more solar farms are going to be popping up across New Brunswick in the future.' Mudge said there are additional challenges in the winter. 'We use three times more electricity in the winter to heat our homes,' Mudge said. 'Solar doesn't really directly benefit us in the winter because it doesn't produce at the time that we need it the most.' Mudge said the batteries can charge during the daytime, even in winter and electricity from those batteries can be used in the morning. The project also boasts regional benefits. The solar panels aren't manufactured in New Brunswick, but the racking and other systems are. 'This system is now being shipped across Canada as one of the strongest made for Canadian winters and storms and hurricanes,' said Mudge. Multi-purpose centre The multi-purpose centre in Shediac, N.B., which is powered by the town's solar farm, is pictured. (Josh Smith/CTV Atlantic) For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CBC
13-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Mactaquac Dam upgrade gets environmental go-ahead
New Brunswick's largest hydroelectric dam is one step closer to a multibillion-dollar refurbishment to extend its lifespan. The province has given N.B. Power the green light to proceed with a major fix of the Mactaquac Dam following a two-year environmental impact assessment. But there's still no definitive decision to go ahead, as policymakers grapple with the enormous financial impact of the project on ratepayers. The latest estimate of the cost is $7.5 billion to $9 billion. Mactaquac went online in 1968 and was supposed to operate for 100 years. It now generates about one-fifth of all the province's electricity, with no greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to a warming climate. But a chemical reaction in the concrete aggregate has caused it to expand. "This reaction has resulted in substantial cracking, leading to accelerated concrete deterioration and seepage of headpond waters through the structures," N.B. Power wrote in its EIA submission in 2023. The reaction "affects the performance of the powerhouse, water retaining structures, gates, and generating units." That means a major overhaul is needed soon. Mactaquac Dam overhaul wins environmental approval 1 hour ago Duration 1:23 The utility pointed to the growing demand for non-emitting electricity to justify the project. The province says N.B. Power can proceed as long as it meets certain conditions, including implementing temporary fish passageways and a plan for wells and wastewater. The utility must also consult First Nations communities and must agree to stop work and consult the province "if it is suspected that remains of archaeological significance are discovered" during the project. And it must comply with federal fisheries legislation and needs to apply for provincial permits for any work that would affect a watercourse or wetland. Neither the province nor N.B. Power had an immediate comment on the EIA decision, but Energy Minister Rene Legacy said in April that the Energy and Utilities Board would review the cost of the project to allow the government to make "an informed decision." N.B. Power is already carrying a debt of more than $5 billion, most of which has been attributed by an auditor-general's report to the Point Lepreau and Belledune power plant projects and the more recent Point Lepreau refurbishment.
Global News
10-06-2025
- Business
- Global News
NB Power offered retirement packages to employees who were already leaving: audit
A new audit says New Brunswick's electric utility company paid $1.15 million in early retirement incentives for eight employees who had already announced they were leaving the Crown corporation. The findings were part of a report by the province's auditor general on NB Power's early retirement program. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The audit by Paul Martin found the Crown corporation didn't save as much as it anticipated, when it first announced the program in October 2022. The audit said at least two members of the utility's board did not get briefed on the proposal before unanimously approving the early retirement plan. It also found NB Power did not keep documents showing how it tried to prevent the loss of essential positions needed to keep electricity flowing. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025.
CBC
10-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Retirement incentives paid to N.B. Power employees who were already leaving, auditor says
Social Sharing An early retirement program offered by N.B. Power in the 2023 fiscal year to save money paid more than $1 million to a group of employees who had already announced plans to leave the utility for free, according to a review by New Brunswick Auditor General Paul Martin. "Eight individuals accepted to the early retirement program had previously notified NB Power of their plans for retirement in advance of the program being offered," Martin wrote in his report. But $1.15 million was still paid "in incentive costs" to get these people to retire, Martin said. The finding was one of several criticisms by Martin of the utility's attempt to shed itself of older workers as one of several cost-saving measures it adopted in 2022 and 2023. Martin estimated that most of the 148 employees who were paid to retire under the scheme likely would have left on their own without an incentive and "potentially only an additional 44 retirements" were generated by the program. He said $17.1 million in cash and benefits were ultimately paid by N.B. Power to the retiring group. N.B. Power has been under significant financial pressure for several years and in October 2022 announced the early retirement program as a way to save money. At the utility's rate hearing in front of the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board February 2023, N.B. Power president Lori Clark highlighted the retirement plan as an example of how seriously the company was about cutting costs. "We have engaged the assistance of external expertise to assist us in finding these savings and have started the process with the elimination of almost 150 positions through a staff optimization program that will save approximately $13 [million] to $15 million in the upcoming fiscal year alone," Clark said. To work, the retirement program required what was eventually 148 participating employees to leave by a mandatory retirement date of March 31, 2023 but Martin found 23 stayed longer than that, including one employee who was able to stay on until March of this year, two years past the mandatory date. In addition, although participating in the program was supposed to permanently end an employee's relationship with the utility, Martin said three were eventually rehired on contracts that ran between six months and two years following their official retirement. Martin noted that N.B. Power's board of directors had approved the plan unanimously at a meeting in September 2022 but said "limited analysis" was provided to board members to support that decision. Martin also pointed out that despite the unanimous approval, electronic board records showed two of N.B. Power's 11 board members had not accessed a briefing note about the plan prior to the board voting on it. N.B. Power has reported the early retirement program did eventually generate savings in labour costs of $11.3 million. That is well below its own initial estimates of what would be achieved, and Martin made five recommendations for the utility to improve its planning, execution and monitoring of programs in the future. In its response, N.B. Power agreed to all five recommendations and pledged to document in writing "the status of the positions eliminated in the 2022/23 Workforce Reduction Program and in any such program in the future, for a five-year period."
