NB Power Announces Steps to Support Customers during Pandemic

2020-03-19

Fredericton, NB - Today, NB Power is announcing measures to support its customers during these difficult times within New Brunswick and around the world. NB Power has asked the Energy and Utilities Board to delay rendering a decision on NB Power’s 2020/21 General Rate Application and its request for implementation of smart meters.

“NB Power’s Board and senior management recognize that New Brunswickers are experiencing additional stress as a result of these unprecedented times,” said Ed Barrett, NB Power Board Chair. “We have asked the regulator to delay its rate decision so that our customers can have one less worry during these extremely challenging times.”

NB Power understands that New Brunswickers may also have difficulty paying their bills due to illness, job loss, or requirements to self-isolate as result of this pandemic.  Therefore, NB Power will not be disconnecting customers for non-payment until further notice.

“During this challenging time, our commitment to our fellow New Brunswickers remains strong,” said Gaëtan Thomas, President and CEO.  “We do not want our customers to have to worry about paying their bills while dealing with illness or loss of income so we would like customers to reach out to us to establish payment options.”

NB Power’s top priority at this time is providing safe and reliable service to customers’ homes, businesses and communities so they can focus on what matters most. Once this crisis has passed, the NB Power Board and management are committed to taking steps inside the company to mitigate the impact of lost revenue because of the pandemic and the delayed rate increase. 

“The Government of New Brunswick fully supports the steps being taken by NB Power to support New Brunswickers during these difficult times,” said Mike Holland, Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Development. “We are also very pleased to see the commitment of the Board and management to look for opportunities to reduce the financial impact of these actions for customers and the provincial economy."

In support of the New Brunswick Chief Medical Officer of Health requests for the provincial government to transition from normal operations to a focus on maintaining critical programs and services, NB Power has taken the unprecedented step of moving its operations to mission critical work only until further notice.

Mission critical describes work that ensures the safe operations of generating facilities and NB Power’s system to ensure continued service for customers, and it also means the required corporate functions to support that objective.  At this time, NB Power is providing essential services to customers including emergencies, outage restoration, move in/move out requests and essential water heater services.

MEDIA CONTACT: Marc Belliveau, Communications, NB Power, 506-458-4203 or mbelliveau@nbpower.com