E. Security Deposits
Table of Contents
Deposit Requirements
Residential:
A security deposit is not required from Customers:
- who have a satisfactory payment history on another NB Power Account in their name, or
- who supply a credit reference from another electric utility, or
- who consent to a credit check and the results are satisfactory to NB Power
All other Customers are required to provide a security deposit. NB Power will determine if the payment must be made:
- before service is provided, or
- on the due date of the first bill.
Non-Residential Customers
When a non-residential Customer applies for service, a security deposit is not required if the Customer is a:
- municipal, provincial or federal government agency;
- local service district;
- publicly owned school or hospital;
- customer with a satisfactory credit history of not less than two years with NB Power who requires a service connection at another location;
- subsidiary of an established existing customer and that parent organization has guaranteed payment of the account.
Forms of Deposits
Security deposits may be in the form of cash, letters of guarantee from Chartered Canadian Banks or Trust Companies, bearer bonds guaranteed by either the Government of Canada or the Province of New Brunswick, or surety bonds issued by duly authorized companies.
Deposit Amount
The amount of security deposit for all Applicants/Customers is the greater of two average operating months' estimated billing or $100.
Deposit Duration and Interest
The interest rate for a cash deposit is set at the beginning of the calendar quarter in which it is received.
All cash security deposits shall accrue interest at a rate equal to the prime rate, as quoted by the Royal Bank of Canada, minus two per cent (2%). If the deposit duration is extended the interest rate is reset at the interest rate prevailing at the time of the extension.
Customer Accounts are reviewed periodically and deposits will be refunded as a credit to the Account for which the deposit is held if the Customer has established a satisfactory payment history.
Residential Customer deposits are reviewed twelve months after a deposit is made, General Service and industrial Customer deposits are reviewed twenty-four months after a deposit is made. If the Customer has established a satisfactory payment history the security deposit is refunded, otherwise an extension may be required for a further one-year period. Interest on security deposit extensions is calculated at the interest rate prevailing at the time of the extension. After a one-year extension, the same terms for a satisfactory payment history and refund apply.
