Nova Scotia Power files rate hike request
Posted Aug 17, 2010 05:44:46 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Nova Scotia Power has applied for another hike to electricity rates that will kick in next year.
But, changes to provincial emission regulations mean savings for the utility of about $60 million – and that means the company is no longer asking for a 12 per cent increase.
Nova Scotia Power spokesman David Rodenhiser says the initial rate hike proposal was based on buying more expensive coal, and Monday’s application to the Utility and Review Board was revised to reflect the cost savings after emission targets for mercury were changed.
“As a result of the government’s policy change on mercury, that’s cut the cost pressure on fuels by about half,” he said.
Under the former regulations, Rodenhiser says Nova Scotia Power would have had to buy more expensive coal to generate clean power.
“The way fuel costs are administered in Nova Scotia, fuel is a direct flow-through cost to customers,” he said. “So customers pay the cost of fuel, no more and no less. There’s no markup or margin for the power company.”
Rodenhiser says the application asks for a residential increase of 6.5 per cent, 8.6 per cent for commercial users and 11.3 per cent for industrial customers.
The UARB hearing will be held this fall.
