New Brunswick power bills will continue to rise, panel warns

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The Point Lepreau nuclear power plant is seen in 2018. A panel of experts recommended Point Lepreau be separated from the rest of NB Power through the creation of a new entity.Kevin Bissett/The Canadian Press

New Brunswickers face the “certainty” of further increases to their electricity bills, warned the final report of a panel of experts tasked with recommending fixes for the province’s power utility.

The panel found “a lack of focus on outcomes and little evidence of consequence for success or failure” at New Brunswick Power, which is wholly-owned by the province and serves roughly 400,000 customers. The panel spread the blame widely among the utility’s management, board of directors and its government masters, while urging New Brunswickers to become more literate about energy matters.

“Electricity rates will rise,” the panel concluded.

Though it acknowledged opportunities to mitigate future hikes, the panel said the utility will soon have to spend large sums on its Mactaquac power dam, Belledune coal-fired station and Point Lepreau nuclear plant. “With little or no profitability, NB Power’s financial structure is not able to generate sufficient cash flow, without higher rates, to fund these projects.”

New Brunswick’s utility has struggled for years both operationally and financially. The province’s auditor-general has warned for the last several years that NB Power couldn’t manage its debt absent significant rate hikes, a government bailout, or slashing its spending.

Established in April, 2025, by the government of Premier Susan Holt, the three-member panel was charged with examining NB Power’s financial sustainability, governance, performance in meeting customer expectations, and attractiveness to potential new investors and partners.

Members included former Bruce Power chief executive officer Duncan Hawthorne, former NB Power director Anne Bertrand and consultant Michael Bernstein. Among their findings:

• NB Power lacks a “a culture of operational excellence”; only two of its last 12 business plans delivered promised financial outcomes, and performance metrics didn’t improve meaningfully over time.
• The utility’s board of directors failed to set clear expectations for management. “In our review of board material and meetings we have found a lack of critical thinking during board discussions.”
• The province had a long history of interfering in the utility’s operations, for example by restricting rate increases between 2011 and 2022. This lowered NB Power’s revenues by an estimated $1.5-billion, restricting its ability to pay down debt or maintain aging infrastructure.

NB Power’s debt has grown to roughly $6-billion, pushing its debt-to-equity ratio above 93 per cent and placing it among Canada’s most indebted utilities. Much of that debt was acquired as long ago as the 1970s, during major capital projects such as Point Lepreau’s construction.

Soaring power rates forcing New Brunswick to consider ‘all options’ for future of utility, Holt says

The panel’s 50 recommendations included:

• Installing more natural gas furnaces, rather than generating power using natural gas and using it for electric heating, which is less efficient;
• The Maritime provinces should consider establishing an independent system operator, a non-profit organization which would manage the region’s electricity grid.
• NB Power’s financial position should be improved by forgiving debt associated with Point Lepreau’s poor performance.
• The government should conduct a full review of the province’s Energy and Utilities Board, which regulates its electricity system, and overhaul its entire regulatory framework.

The panel attributed Point Lepreau’s poor operational performance in part to a “tick the box” compliance culture that seldom focused on improving outcomes.

NB Power has forged a partnership with Laurentis Energy Partners (a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation) to improve Point Lepreau’s performance. The panel found that while this arrangement has provided “much-needed operational expertise,” there’s no evidence that it can improve the plant’s commercial performance, including reducing operating costs.

The panel recommended Point Lepreau be separated from the rest of NB Power through the creation of a new entity called Point Lepreau Nuclear, which would have a board of directors “populated by experienced nuclear professionals who have held senior operating positions elsewhere.”

New Brunswick government rethinks nuclear reactor plans

Despite the station’s operational troubles, the panel also recommended New Brunswick begin planning for an additional nuclear plant alongside Point Lepreau.

“This is not a recommendation to build another unit but more to conduct the necessary approval and assessment stages,” the report said.

The report did not explore NB Power’s years-long foray into small modular reactors, which included a plan to build two different first-of-a-kind nuclear reactors and a fuel processing facility at Point Lepreau by 2030. New Brunswick officials have said the province is no longer interested in building first-of-a-kind reactors.

Energy Minister René Legacy said in a statement that the government would create a plan that would address all 50 recommendations by the end of May, “and help rebuild trust in New Brunswick’s public utility.”