Premier Dwight Ball announced another step in Newfoundland and Labrador’s plan to grapple with power rates that are expected to double by 2021 in the wake of the “ill conceived” Muskrat Falls hydro megaproject.
The province is asking the Public Utilities Board to investigate how to cut costs in the already cash-strapped province.
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The board is being asked to assess the electricity-related activities of Nalcor Energy, the Crown corporation overseeing the project, which is now more than $6 billion over budget.
The board will provide an interim report in February 2019 and a final report in January 2020.
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Ball called the estimated rate increase to 22.89 cents per kilowatt hour in 2021 “unacceptable,” but the parameters of the board’s investigation did not include a ballpark “acceptable” amount.
Public hearings for the provincial commission of inquiry into spending on the Muskrat Falls will begin on Sept. 17 in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
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