New Brunswick·NewPublic interest in a review the New Brunswick government ordered into N.B. Power has been underwhelming so far, according to a key member of the independent group running the initiative.Panel studying what to do about debt-laden utility underwhelmed by public interest in its workRobert Jones · CBC News · Posted: Sep 11, 2025 4:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 28 minutes agoMichael Bernstein, left, Duncan Hawthorne and Anne Bertrand at a public meeting in Saint John on Thursday. (Roger Cosman/CBC)Public interest in a review of N.B. Power ordered by the New Brunswick government has been underwhelming so far, according to a key member of the independent group running the initiative.Duncan Hawthorne is a former president of Bruce Power in Ontario and at a public meeting in Saint John on Thursday said participation in the group’s online attempts to reach the public has been weak.”I have been disappointed at the number of people that have joined our webinars because you don’t even have to leave your own home to do that,” Hawthorne said.”I have run them in other places and there are hundreds of people. We’ve done them here, and there aren’t so many people calling in.” The review has now moved to the in-person phase of its consultations, and Hawthorne said he wants to see more interest from people, given the significant issues that are being weighed, including whether N.B. Power should remain as a publicly owned utility.”We really need people to be more engaged,” he said.Public meetings being conducted by the three-person independent panel began Wednesday in Moncton and move next to Saint Andrews and Fredericton. In October, they will head to a variety of communities in northern New Brunswick.The group was put together by the Holt government in April and given one year to study N.B. Power, consult with the public and recommend a course of action for the debt-laden Crown corporation.The independent panel reviewing what to do about N.B. Power has begun in-person public hearings. They started Wednesday in Moncton and will conclude for the week in Fredericton on Friday. More hearings are scheduled for October. (Robert Jones/CBC)In addition to Hawthorne, the review panel includes Anne Bertrand, the former New Brunswick privacy commissioner and N.B. Power board member, and Michael Bernstein, a utility financial expert.In Saint John, 60 chairs were set up for Thursday’s midday public meeting, but only two dozen people showed and only a smattering of those were not connected in some way to the review, to the provincial government or to the electricity industry.One self-described “Joe Citizen” who did attend was Saint John resident Richard Folkins. He told the panel he viewed talk of further rate increases by N.B. Power “frightening” and blamed much of that on the utility’s problems in its operation of the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station, which he called “a disaster.”Saint John resident Richard Folkins told the panel in the city on Thursday that future rate increases being projected by N.B. Power are ‘frightening.’ (Roger Cosman/CBC)”It was a rude awakening to N.B. Power, which shocks me,” Folkins said. “I don’t know how they didn’t see this tidal wave coming.”Hawthorne welcomed Folkins comments and called Lepreau “the poorest performing nuclear plant in North America” that has been causing the utility significant financial problems.”You haven’t said anything that we disagree with,” he told Folkins. “Not a thing, not a word came out of your mouth that I disagree with.”Randy McKnight, mayor of Valley Waters, said rural residents are struggling with their power bills. (Roger Cosman/CBC)Randy McKnight, the mayor of the new municipality of Valley Waters, also attended the Saint John session. He told the panel rural residents are struggling with residential prices for electricity increasing by 30 per cent over the last three years. In an interview, he said people are not widely participating in the review because they are cynical about government consultations. He hopes that will change.”There’s a lack of belief that this will make any positive, lasting change,” McKnight said. “As a community we will put this out through our Facebook page and our web page promoting — fill out the surveys, offer your feedback. We want to encourage every resident to give feedback to N.B. Power.”ABOUT THE AUTHORRobert Jones has been a reporter and producer with CBC New Brunswick since 1990. His investigative reports on petroleum pricing in New Brunswick won several regional and national awards and led to the adoption of price regulation in 2006.
Minimal public interest in comprehensive N.B. Power review has ‘disappointed’ so far
