by: John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter. Source: Telegraph-Journal 
January 25, 2026

NB Power is applying for special permission to immediately push up rates on April 1st by 4.75%, a move that would add close to $130 to average yearly household bills.

Normally, the public utility would have to wait for the provincial regulator, the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board, to review its arguments for a rate increase. As a quasi-judicial body, the EUB ultimately decides NB Power’s rates.

But NB Power says it must seek special approval for an interim measure otherwise its finances will be shot.

It promises to credit more than 400,000 customers if the board makes the highly unlikely decision to reject the rate hike altogether, or more realistically, shaves the request a bit, as it has done in previous years.

Rates have already gone up by 23% over the last three years, causing an outcry from the public, anti-poverty groups and businesses.

Most people in New Brunswick heat primarily with electricity, and bills can already range between $1,800 and $5,000 a year or more, depending on the size of a house, the type of insulation it has, and the heating system.

NB Power filed its general rate application in October. The latest application seeks an interim rate increase starting April 1, 2026, or, failing that, NB Power requests that it may recover any financial losses caused by a delay in introducing new rates after April over the remainder of fiscal year once the decision has been made on the general rate application.

Tantramar gas plant hearing

The utility says it was forced to ask for the measure because NB Power and the EUB will be tied up with hearings on its proposed 500 MW gas/diesel plant on the Chignecto Isthmus.

Those public hearings are scheduled from February 9 to 13 at the Delta Beausejour hotel in Moncton.

Meantime, the hearings for the general rate application are expected to begin in March. They often take several weeks, and the board typically takes months to make a final decision.

NB Power says if the final approved rate is lower than the interim rate, customers’ bills will be adjusted as required by the board.

If the alternative motion is approved, NB Power will recover the money lost due to the delay in setting new rates through a separate charge. This charge would only be applied after the board rules on the final rate and would be in place only until March 31, 2027.

NB Power says the rate increase would raise monthly bills by $10.90 a month for the average residential customer using 1,350 kWh of electricity over a month.

Note: NB Power announced its application for special permission to increase rates immediately in a two-part news release issued last week. The first part says the utility is seeking permission to spend more than $50 million on a major capital project at the Point Lepreau nuclear station after it has already completed the work. To read the release, click here.

This story was written by John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for Brunswick News.