Cost to switch Maritime Electric customers to smart meters rises by $16 million
CBC
The estimated cost for Maritime Electric to convert all of its customers over to smart meters has increased by more than $16 million — a move that could lead to larger electricity rate increases for Prince Edward Island customers if the plan is approved.
Last November, the company submitted its original smart meter proposal with a pricetag of $47.6 million to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission.
But just a month later, the company submitted a revised estimate pegging the cost at $64 million, an increase of 34 per cent.
Interest costs are expected to add another $2.8 million on top of that.
In the December submission, the company said that once it began sourcing components for the plan with selected vendors, costs went up — a process the company said resulted in "improved budget accuracy."
The federal government announced last year that it would provide $19 million in funding for the project.
That funding commitment hasn't changed, which means a larger share of the costs will now be borne by P.E.I. customers.
Their share of the costs has gone from $28.6 million to $49 million, an increase of 71 per cent.
With its initial budget estimate, Maritime Electric calculated its plan would increase electricity rates by about .3 cents per kWh by 2028, with an annual cost to residential customers of about $24.
For large industrial customers using 10,000 kWh per month — about 15 times as much as what Maritime Electric considers a benchmark residential customer — the cost increase would be $377 per year.
No breakdown was given of how rates will be affected with the bigger, revised budget Maritime Electric submitted in December.
Maritime Electric boosted rates twice last year. A further rate increase has already been approved for 2024, and IRAC is still considering yet another increase.
Last November, the company applied to increase rates to recoup $37 million in restoration costs from post-tropical storm Fiona over a five-year period.
If that's approved, Maritime Electric's per-kWh residential rate will be 12 per cent higher on March 1, 2024, than it was a year earlier.
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