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Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says he’s not entertaining the idea of buying Nova Scotia Power to make it a public utility again after more than three decades in the hands of private operators.
“My focus is on making sure the utility functions in a way that is fair to Nova Scotians, while also creating alternatives to that utility,” Houston told reporters at Province House Friday.
Houston added that buying Nova Scotia Power would likely be cost-prohibitive.
“We have a significant debt load, we have a significant deficit this year already, so any type of move in that direction, something else would have to give. And as we’ve seen the last couple weeks, it’s very hard when anything has to give.”
Houston said his government has not done an analysis of what a buyback would cost — at least not since he took charge of the energy department last October — but he expects “it would be a pretty big number.”
Nova Scotia Power was a Crown corporation until 1992, when the province sold it for $192 million.
Buying the utility is a common refrain from unhappy customers who want Nova Scotia Power held to greater account for rising power rates, unreliable service and last year’s massive cybersecurity breach.
WATCH | What’s included in Nova Scotia Power’s application to raise rates?:
Nova Scotia Power is asking for more than just a rate hike
Residential rates could be going up if Nova Scotia Power’s recent rate application is approved. But as the CBC’s Taryn Grant explains, the utility’s big ask is about a lot more.
The NDP have been pushing for a review of the utility’s ownership, and Leader Claudia Chender said such a review is needed before the possibility of buying it back is written off.
“Nova Scotians are paying a lot for power right now and we need to do an economic analysis of this company that nobody is happy with,” she told reporters Friday.
“This government somehow refuses to just look under the hood. And that’s what we’re asking.”
Interim Liberal Leader Iain Rankin said he does not think a buyback would be a “serious policy shift.”
“We have other provinces that own their own power utility and they’re seeing the same kind of rate increases,” he said at Province House Friday.
Rankin agreed with the premier that the path to better electricity service includes more competition.
Nova Scotia Power holds a near-monopoly in Nova Scotia. It’s the only option for most people, except those who live in the few municipalities that operate their own electric utilities.
A fledgling competitor to Nova Scotia Power just got financial backing from Ottawa and expects to start operating its first wind farm around the end of this year or start of next.
Renewall Energy will pay a tariff to Nova Scotia Power for the use of its grid, but customers will pay their bills directly to Renewall, which guarantees fixed rates for five to 20 years.
The company’s first wind farm will have a generating capacity close to 150-megawatts, which is enough to power about 50,000 homes. Renewall’s president has said he aims to expand after this first project.
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