New Brunswick auditor general expresses serious concern with ongoing debt at NB Power
Posted Feb 23, 2021 10:12:50 AM.
Last Updated Feb 23, 2021 10:25:14 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
FREDERICTON — New Brunswick’s auditor general says NB Power needs to make reduction of its $4.9-billion debt a priority.
Kim Adair-MacPherson tabled two volumes of her annual report today as she appeared before the legislature’s public accounts committee.
She says NB Power has the highest debt-to-equity ratio of all government-owned utilities in Canada.
Adair-MacPherson says she has a “serious concern” that the utility has repeatedly failed to meet debt reduction and income targets.
She said NB Power has reduced debt by an average of $20 million annually since the refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant was completed in 2013 but would have to reduce the debt by $65 million per year to meet its 2027 target.
She told the committee that inaccurate forecasting by the utility leads to a lack of debt reduction.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2021.
The Canadian Press
