A prominent credit rating agency has downgraded the bonds of Nova Scotia’s electrical utility amid the company’s conflicts with the provincial government.
In an announcement published on Tuesday, DBRS Morningstar dropped the rating one notch to BBB high from A low of Nova Scotia Power, an Emera Inc. subsidiary.
The agency says the downgrade is due to what it calls the “deterioration in the regulatory environment for the firm.”
Early last month, the Progressive Conservative government capped power rate increases over the next two years to 1.8 per cent _ excluding increases linked to fuel costs and energy efficiency programs.
The rating agency says the rate caps are a problem because of the “significant investment” needed to phase out the utility’s coal-fired generation plants by 2030.
DBRS Morningstar says the utility can improve its rating if the provincial government doesn’t interfere in the next rate increase application.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2022.