Today’s announcement by the Government of Nova Scotia poses serious risks to our ability to continue to serve our customers reliably and prepare for Nova Scotia’s future energy needs.
Customers count on us to deliver reliable electricity, every day. It’s why we work to strengthen our system across the province and why we work to restore power safely and as quickly as possible after storms like Hurricane Fiona.
The local and global economy have been faced with many challenges since we filed our general rate application (GRA) earlier this year. We know many Nova Scotians are facing difficult times because of these pressures and we’re sensitive to the impact of any increase in electricity rates. We have a responsibility to manage costs and keep power bills as low as possible. This is why our team of more than 2,000 Nova Scotians works to ensure we’re operating as efficiently and effectively as possible– a focus that has enabled us to avoid an increase in non-fuel power rates for the last 10 years despite rising operational costs over that time.
As an electric utility with strong regulatory oversight, we’re disappointed and concerned that the Government of Nova Scotia would use legislation to override what is meant to be a politically independent process.
As part of our rate application, we requested over $500 million to strengthen our energy infrastructure and fund 60 new front-line jobs directly related to reliability. Today’s proposed legislation limits this planned investment and the amount of storm preparedness and system hardening we can do in the province. As recent storms including Hurricane Fiona have made clear, severe storms will keep coming. Putting off these critical investments until later is not a solution.
This proposed legislation would impede our ability to meet targets set by the Province to reach 80% renewable energy and be off coal by 2030. We’ve been focused on meeting these targets because they’re critical to building a sustainable energy future. But we can’t meet them without making the investments needed to get there.
As we work over the coming days and weeks to fully understand the impacts of this proposed legislation, our team of dedicated Nova Scotians remains committed to delivering safe, reliable and cleaner energy to our customers. Serving our customers will always be our focus, despite the constraints imposed by this proposed legislation.
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Forward Looking Information
This statement contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. By its nature, forward-looking information requires Nova Scotia Power to make assumptions and is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements reflect Nova Scotia Power management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to Nova Scotia Power management. There is a risk that predictions, forecasts, conclusions and projections that constitute forward-looking information will not prove to be accurate, that Nova Scotia Power’s assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking information. Additional detailed information about these assumptions, risks and uncertainties is included in Nova Scotia Power’s securities regulatory filings, including under the heading “Enterprise Risks and Risk Management” in Nova Scotia Power’s annual Management’s Discussion and Analysis, and under the heading “Principal Financial Risks and Uncertainties” in the notes to Nova Scotia Power’s annual and interim financial statements, which can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
About Nova Scotia Power
Nova Scotia Power Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emera Inc. (TSX-EMA), a diversified energy and services company. Nova Scotia Power provides 95% of the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power to more than 540,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across Nova Scotia. The company is focused on new technologies to enhance customer service and reliability, reduce emissions and add renewable energy. Nova Scotia Power has over 2,000 employees and $4.5 billion in operating assets. Learn more at www.nspower.ca.
Media Contact:
Jacqueline Foster
NSP Senior Communications Advisor
902-225-4735
