Maritime Electric applies for rate increase
CBC
Maritime Electric customers could see an increase in their power bills next year.
The utility has filed for a general rate increase for 2023-25. The application is before the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC).
If approved, there would be about a three per cent annual increase each year, for the next three years.
For a benchmark, Maritime Electric uses a residential customer using an average of 650 kilowatt hours per month.
That customer currently has a monthly bill of about $135. If the rate application is approved, their bill would increase to about $139 next March. Compounded, it would increase to $143 in 2024, and then to $147.50 in 2025.
"We're like any other business, we're not immune to inflation. We're not immune to escalating price increases," said Jason Roberts, the president and CEO of Maritime Electric.
"We have worked very hard to keep our costs down."
Energy-related costs account for 46 per cent of the proposed rate increases, according to Roberts.
The utility is also looking to spend more money on vegetation management. About half of major outages are caused by wind and tree contacts.
Maritime Electric said demand continues to grow, as people install heat pumps and buy electric cars.
Only about 20 per cent of P.E.I.'s electricity comes from Island wind farms. The rest is purchased from the mainland, including nuclear power from New Brunswick.
IRAC will release a notice of application and a timeframe for public comments.
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.