Nova Scotia utility paid $205 million for replacement fuel after Muskrat Falls delays

HALIFAX - Nova Scotia’s energy utility has launched figures indicating $205.5 million was spent on substitute fuels over the previous 4 years due to delays to Newfoundland and Labrador’s Muskrat Falls hydro challenge.

The hydroelectricity challenge in Labrador was alleged to ship energy to Nova Scotia beginning in 2018, nevertheless it has been affected by a collection of setbacks.

Nova Scotia Energy, a subsidiary of Emera Inc., advised regulators in late December that substitute vitality prices totalled $49.2 million in 2018, $52 million in 2019, $57 million in 2020 and $47.3 million from January to October final yr.

Invoice Mahody, the lawyer who represents residential ratepayers throughout Utility and Evaluation Board hearings,stated in an interview Mondaythat the substitute vitality prices have been paid for by Nova Scotians.

The Utility and Evaluation Board, the unbiased physique mandated to control utilities within the province, is at present contemplating an utility from Emera to get well from Nova Scotia Energy ratepayers the roughly $1.7 billion in prices of the Maritime Hyperlink — the transmission line from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia.

Mahody stated if Muskrat Falls delays proceed, there must be a mechanism allowing gasoline substitute prices to be shared between Nova Scotia taxpayers and shareholders of the publicly traded Emera.

“There must be a way for ratepayers to get some sharing of the prices right here,” he stated.

In an emailed remark, Nova Scotia Energy spokeswoman Jacqueline Foster famous that the Muskrat Falls vitality is anticipated to stream, and the Newfoundland and Labrador utility, Nalcor, will make up for the vitality misplaced to earlier delays.

“It's a 35-year supply of unpolluted vitality that Nova Scotians will profit from as we transfer off coal and improve renewables,” she wrote.

“Nalcor (Newfoundland and Labrador’s utility) will exchange the vitality in co-ordination with Nova Scotia Energy Inc. at a later date. Nova Scotia Energy has contracted for 35 years of vitality and that is what Nova Scotians will obtain,” Foster stated.

Nova Scotia has dedicated to phasing out coal-based energy era to scale back greenhouse fuel emissions. Mahody raised considerations concerning the prices to taxpayers of discovering various renewable vitality sources if Muskrat Falls continues to fall not on time.

The unique settlement for the creation of the Maritime Hyperlink was for Emera to finance and assemble the road in return for a set block of electrical energy from Muskrat Falls, Mahody stated.

“If issues had been going in keeping with the unique plan, ratepayers would have been paying roughly $160-170 million yearly, and receiving Muskrat vitality that quantities to about 10 per cent of the facility wanted by Nova Scotia,” he defined.

As an alternative, Mahody stated, ratepayers have been paying the price of constructing of the hyperlink, however they haven’t been receiving the anticipated vitality — resulting in the annual added prices for substitute fuels.

The province’s local weather change targets embrace commitments to section out coal-fired electrical energy era by 2030, to scale back greenhouse fuel emissions to not less than 53 per cent under 2005 ranges by 2030, and to realize net-zero emissions by 2050.

“Transferring ahead, the issue of Muskrat delays are compounding, and with the environmental constraints it turns into a extra urgent level to make sure we get the vitality we must be getting from Muskrat,” Mahody stated.

The assorted submissions to that Utility and Evaluation Board listening to will shut on Friday, with rulings anticipated this winter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Jan. 10, 2022.