By Teilor Stone
Consumers in Nova Scotia will pay a bill of US$163.7 million in 2023 to finance, operate and maintain the undersea cable that brings electricity to the province from Newfoundland and Labrador.
In a decision released Dec. 22, the province’s Utilities and Review Board approved an application made in August by the Nova Scotia Power subsidiary that operates the Maritime Link. The Board ruled that the amount will be included in Nova Scotia Power’s electricity rates and collected from customers.
The 2023 cost estimate is approximately US$5 million lower than the US$169 million approved for 2022. The decrease includes US$1.9 million less for operating and operating costs. maintenance.
The Commission explained that the forecast for 2023 is based on the subsidiary’s growing experience in the operation and maintenance of Maritime Link since 2018 and reflect its ongoing efforts to refine, mitigate and contain costs.
In February, the Commission approved the recovery of US$1.7 billion over 35 years for the cost of the cable, which is supposed to carry electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.
The maritime link, which was completed on budget and on schedule, was expected to be fully operational by 2018, but carried only minimal power to Nova Scotia. Scotland due to a series of setbacks with the Muskrat Falls project.
Nova Scotia’s electric utility released figures, ahead of the February ruling, showing that US$205.5 million has been spent on alternative fuels over the past four years due to the delays.
As a result, the Board ordered Nova Scotia Power to withhold US$2 million per month to pay for replacement power if less than 90 per cent of the planned electricity from the Labrador is not delivered. The Commission was informed in February that approximately 19 per cent of the planned electricity had been delivered between August 15, 2021 and the end of November of the same year.
In its new decision, the Commission ruled that the US$2 million monthly holdback would continue on an interim basis and be reviewed in a separate proceeding to be held in January.
Meanwhile, the Commission is expected to issue its decision on an increase in electricity rates soon.
With information from La Presse canadienne
