IRAC lets Maritime Electric raise power rates, with some conditions
CBC
The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission has signed off on Maritime Electric's application to increase electricity rates for Prince Edward Island homes and businesses.
Power bills showing the same amount of usage for the average rural customer will be 2.6 per cent higher in 2023 and 2024, and 2.7 per cent higher in 2025.
IRAC also decided to let the utility operate with a higher profit margin to calculate annual earnings, even though the commission said that means cost savings which used to be passed on to customers will now benefit shareholders instead.
The commission is requiring Maritime Electric to file an annual report on where it found those savings, to fulfil a condition of the approval that the cost-cutting changes don't have a negative impact on service to customers.
The P.E.I. government came to an agreement with Maritime Electric earlier this month to allow for the higher profit margin, as long as electricity users on the Island would not suffer as a result.
IRAC is also requiring Maritime Electric to report back on how it plans to keep up with tree-trimming along power lines, saying previous efforts were inadequate.
The commission said the lack of spending on vegetation management put the reliability of the system at risk leading into last September's damage from post-tropical storm Fiona.
Now that IRAC has given approval to the deal, the first of three years worth of annual rate increases for customers will kick in May 1.
Maritime Electric has said those increases will be lower than they would have been before its deal with the province.
It had been applying for an increase of three per cent per year.
Organizers of a long-running food and wine show that showcases the country's best booze aren't letting a growing trend that sees Canadians drinking less alcohol stop the London event.
Robert Grenier, an archaeologist known for pioneering underwater exploration, has died.
In just over a month, millions of Canadians will be gathering to watch ice hockey at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games.
Maintenance workers at Halifax's Scotiabank Centre made a fitting discovery in a freight elevator over the Christmas holidays.
Mike Donovan doesn’t have a traditional ice-fishing shack in the makeshift village on the Kennebasis River in Rothesay.
York police said three suspects were taken into custody after a commercial break and enter in Vaughan Saturday morning.
Marc Nuckle, a security guard at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Hospital, says a number of weapons have been found on patients and their companions since metal detectors were installed at the entrance of the emergency room.
Murray Trout paces through his living room as plumbers scurry down the hallway to attend to yet another burst water pipe in Pimicikamak Cree Nation.
Just hours after the United States announced it had attacked oil-rich Venezuela and captured its president Nicolás Maduro, the wife of a top adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Canada on social media.
The B.C. Geographical Names Office (BCGNO) is considering rescinding the name "Trutch" from four more locations across the province over their namesake's racist legacy.
An audit of Hamilton’s outdoor shelter project found that when it came to constructing the shelters, “urgency overrode the importance of due diligence and good governance.”
Stellantis says it will phase out plug‑in hybrid (PHEV) programs in North America beginning with the 2026 model year.
Some Calgary city councillors are throwing cold water on the idea that an Enmax-like corporation, owned by the city, should oversee its water system in the future.