New BrunswickA year-long independent review of N.B. Power ordered by the New Brunswick government has been generating some heavy criticism of the utility at public meetings, but not just from members of the public Panellists running a review of N.B. Power suggest realistic solutions are needed to fix utilityRobert Jones · CBC News · Posted: Sep 12, 2025 3:36 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoThe three-person panel reviewing what should be done with N.B. Power held its fourth public meeting on Friday, this time in Fredericton. (Michael Heenan/CBC)A year-long independent review of N.B. Power ordered by the New Brunswick government has been generating some heavy criticism of the utility at public meetings, but not just from members of the public On Friday during an open session in Fredericton, the review panel itself questioned shortcomings in N.B. Power’s management structure and execution that may be contributing to its troublesDuncan Hawthorne, one of three members of the review panel and a former president of Bruce Power in Ontario, said N.B. Power has been unable to provide him or fellow panellist Michael Bernstein data they requested on how much it costs the utility to produce a kilowatt of electricity.”That’s in itself insightful,” Hawthorne told the meeting “I am an operator — I have been all my life — and I’ve also been a chief executive, and if I go in any of my facilities, and the guy who runs it can’t tell me how much it costs to produce a kilowatt of power, I’ve got the wrong guy.” WATCH | ‘It’s kind of what I would call an amorphous mass,’ Duncan Hawthorne says of N.B. Power structure: N.B. Power can’t say how much it costs to produce a kilowatt of power, irate review panelist saysDuring a stop in Fredericton for the public consultation phase of its N.B. Power review, panel member Duncan Hawthorne criticized the utility for being unable to answer questions about production costs. Hawthorne blamed N.B. Power’s organizational structure, which he called an “amorphous mass” for its inability to provide the information.He said the panel is now building its “own financial models” of how N.B. Power operates to understand the utility in a way that will not rely on information supplied by its management.At public meetings, review panel member Duncan Hawthorne, the former president of Bruce Power in Ontario, has been speaking frankly about N.B. Power’s problems. (Michael Heenan/CBC)The Fredericton event was the fourth public meeting of the week for the review panel. Hawthorne, who described himself as “a kind of blunt instrument” in Saint John on Thursday, has been dominating sessions with his plainspoken and often colourful assessment of problems he’s been observing.On the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station, he reiterated the need for better performance and hinted N.B. Power’s financial condition may be worse than its financial statements show because of how it overvalues the nuclear plant.”Lepreau is a very good example of an asset that has a very significant book value because of the cost of refurbishing and other things,” Hawthorne said. “And I would tell you a very simple thing: it’s not worth the book value today, to anyone.”No one is coming to pay that for you.”Those hoping the nuclear plant can be sold off at a price that would take its debt off N.B. Power’s books are not being realistic, Hawthorne said.There is no “money tree” in New Brunswick to fix N.B. Power’s financial problems with — “I’ve been looking” — and no “Harry Potter’s wand” to wave the debt away, he said.Review panellist Michael Bernstein, who has a background in the financing of major power generation projects, questions whether N.B. Power customers should have to pay a three per cent surcharge on their bills to cover past losses of the utility. (Michael Heenan/CBC)Instead, he said, the utility needs to get the assets it has to perform better, starting with the nuclear plant.Panellist Bernstein pointed out that despite recent increases, N.B. Power’s rates are still lower than those being charged next door in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. But he had his own questions about why N.B. Power is allowed to add a surcharge to bills to pay for past losses that are stored in a “variance account.””We are looking at the variance account. Does it make sense,” Bernstein said.”In a normal business, if you don’t hit your budget, you lose money.”Fredericton resident Randy Dickinson says he was ‘blowing the whistle’ on N.B. Power, then did just that during his presentation at a public meeting about the utility on Friday. (Michael Heenan/CBC)Several members of the public asked questions. Two told the meeting they had doubts the review would be effective but have begun to change their view.Fredericton resident Randy Dickinson came to the meeting with a long list of complaints and a whistle which he loudly blew after offering his own views.”I’m blowing the whistle on N.B. Power,” Dickinson said. “It’s time for a change.”I want to thank you for the work you are doing and hopefully it will make a difference.”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.
No ‘Harry Potter wand’ available to fix N.B. Power, public meeting told
