Nova Scotia Utility Paid $ 205 Million for Replacement Fuel After Muskrat Falls Delays | The Canadian News

The Nova Scotia Power Company has released figures indicating that $ 205.5 million was spent on replacement fuels over the past four years due to delays at Labrador’s Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.

The hydroelectric project in Newfoundland and Labrador was supposed to provide power to Nova Scotia beginning in 2018, but it has been plagued by a number of setbacks.

Nova Scotia Power, a subsidiary of Emera Inc., told regulators in late December that replacement power costs totaled $ 49.2 million in 2018, $ 52 million in 2019, $ 57 million in 2020, and $ 47.3 million in January. to October of last year.

Bill Mahody, the attorney representing residential taxpayers during the utility and review board hearings, said in an interview Monday that the replacement power costs have been paid by Nova Scotians.

The Public Services and Review Board, the independent body in charge of regulated public services in the province, is currently considering a request from Emera to recover the approximately $ 1.7 billion in costs of the Maritime Link, the transmission line from Terranova to Nueva. Scotland, from Nova Scotia Power. contributors

Mahody said that if Muskrat’s delays continue, there should be a mechanism that allows fuel replacement costs to be shared between Nova Scotia taxpayers and Emera shareholders.

“There has to be some way for taxpayers to share the costs here,” he said.

Trend stories

• 

  COVID-19 Booster Vaccines: Here’s What You Need To Know About Side Effects

• 

  COVID-19 Vaccine Fourth Dose: What’s the Science Behind Another Booster?

Nova Scotia is committed to phasing out coal-fired power generation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Mahody expressed concern about the costs to taxpayers of finding alternative renewable energy sources if Muskrat Falls continues to lag.

The original agreement for the creation of the Maritime Link was for Emera to finance and build the line in exchange for a fixed block of electricity from Muskrat Falls, Mahody said.

“If things had gone according to the original plan, taxpayers would have been paying roughly $ 160 (million) to $ 170 million a year and receiving Muskrat power that equates to about 10 percent of the power Nova Scotia needs,” he explained. .

Instead, Mahody said, taxpayers have been paying the cost of building the link but have not received the expected power, generating additional annual costs for replacement fuels.

Mahody said that if the various technical problems are finally overcome, Nova Scotia taxpayers may “bounce back” over the next 35 years with additional deliveries of the Muskrat Falls power.

The province’s climate change targets include commitments to phase out coal-fired electricity generation by 2030, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 53 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, and achieve net zero emissions. by 2050.

“Moving forward, Muskrat’s backlog problem is getting worse, and with environmental constraints it becomes a more pressing point to ensure that we get the energy that we should be getting from Muskrat,” Mahody said.

The various presentations to that hearing from the Utility and Review board will close on Friday, and rulings are expected this winter.

This Canadian Press report was first published on January 10, 2022.