NB Power says a third-party audit looking into metering and billing accuracy is taking longer than initially expected.
The report was supposed to be ready for when the utility appears before the legislature’s public accounts committee on Thursday.
But one day before that scheduled appearance by President and CEO Lori Clark, NB Power said work on the independent review is still ongoing.
“Despite our best efforts, the reduced timeline did not allow us to thoroughly consider the concerns raised by New Brunswickers,” NB Power said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We believe it would be a disservice to provide an incomplete review that does not fully consider your concerns.”
The provincial government announced the audit in late January after hearing from “hundreds” of New Brunswickers with concerns about higher than normal power bills.
“Those New Brunswickers had questions about their kilowatt hours, about how meters are read, about a whole bunch of different things,” Premier Susan Holt told reporters on Jan. 21.
“More and more people were reaching out with really significant spikes in power bills that were unexpected, that didn’t go to trend, and we want to get to the bottom of this.”
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NB Power said while the initial review has not identified any issues with their metering and billing systems, they are not satisfied that it digs deeply enough into two specific areas of concern:
That includes a “statistically significant sample” comparing smart meters to legacy meters and specific work on a sample of customers who have registered as part of the review process.
According to the utility’s statement, 20 smart meters and 20 traditional meters have been tested using Measurement Canada standards and no issues have been found.
NB Power has also completed “thousands” of high bill investigations, with the “majority” being resolved by factors such as temperature, customer behavior, and increased billing days.
The utility said it has also taken a number of other proactive steps in recent weeks, which include:
- Relaxing enrollment for the Equalized Payment Plan program to assist customers with up to $1,200 in arrears.
- Conducting an internal investigation to understand the causes of high bill concerns and improve customer understanding.
- Waiving late payments for residential customers retroactive to Jan, 1, 2025, until this work is complete. Any customers that have paid late payments charges will be reimbursed through a bill credit.
NB Power said it now expects the additional work that is currently underway will be completed in April.
“Once the review is finalized, we will release the report publicly and are prepared to appear before the standing committee on public accounts if requested,” said the statement.
“We understand that this delay may be frustrating, but it is essential to ensure the review is thorough and addresses all your concerns.”
