For the first time in years, NB’s power provider stopped cutting the electricity to households far behind in bill payments
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner
New data that NB Power provided to Brunswick News this week shows that it did not disconnect a single residential customer for nonpayment in December.
That’s significant in a cold province where most of NB Power’s 400,000 customers heat primarily with electricity.
“I’m sure this has saved lives,” said Shelley Petit, the executive director of the New Brunswick Coalition of People with Disabilities, in an interview on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
Before that, NB Power on average disconnected 79 households every December over the previous eight years.
And a year before the temporary, no-disconnect policy was put in place, NB Power cut electricity to 122 households, a recent all-time high for that month.
Petit is one of the driving forces behind the change.
She sits on the Crown utility’s new vulnerable populations committee, which recommended to senior NB Power executives that the policy be changed.
“This moratorium worked,” she said. “So now we need something permanent. We can’t ignore these numbers. This is huge.”
NB Power CEO Lori Clark announced the change on Nov. 28. She said her organization would temporarily halt winter disconnections for non-payment of bills, within reason, from Dec. 1 to March 31, the chilliest months when the average temperature is often below zero Celsius.
The moratorium applies only to residential customers aged 70 and above who have confirmed medical issues requiring equipment powered by electricity, or to households with annual gross incomes of less than $70,000.
Clark said customers who qualify must continue to make some payment each month to keep their accounts in good standing and help avoid having large amounts owing on electricity bills in the spring.
On Wednesday, NB Power spokeswoman Elizabeth Fraser reiterated the message her organization has long said: that cutting people’s electricity was a last resort.
“If customers are unable to pay, we urge them to reach out to us, so we can explore financial assistance programs and find a solution that avoids disconnection,” she wrote in an email.
“NB Power offers options to help them manage their overdue bills including payment arrangements and making sure they are aware of programs that might offer assistance. We have expanded our equalized payment plan to allow customers with arrears to register and spread their annual bill into equal monthly amounts. This will avoid higher bills in the winter months. We also offer an array of energy efficiency programs that can help customers save energy and reduce their bills.”
Previously, the only time NB Power offered a moratorium on disconnections was during the first full three months of the pandemic, from April to June 2020.
Anti-poverty and other advocacy groups, such as Acorn NB and the Human Development Council, have advocated for policies to prevent the most vulnerable from losing heat in the winter.
Petit said the committee is working on a plan she hopes to present to NB Power executives and the provincial government by next October to improve the situation.
She notes that Ontario has the Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP), which allows low-income households to apply for $650 in relief for electricity bill arrears, and up to $780 if their home is heated electrically.
Ontarians qualify if their after-tax household income meets a low threshold that rises with each additional family member. For example, a single person would have to earn less than $38,000 to qualify, whereas a household with five or more family members would qualify if they made $71,000 or less, after tax.
British Columbia’s BC Hydro has a Customer Crisis Fund for people who are behind on bill payments, good for up to $800 for those who heat their homes with electricity, and $700 for customers with homes heated by other sources, such as natural gas.
“The next step is to work on a plan and come up with something permanent because we need something in New Brunswick,” Petit said. “Working with a large corporation and government, nothing moves quickly, but we have a very positive first step and the numbers don’t lie.”
