Updates from the Review Board

This month marked our fourth active month of engagement. We were boots on the ground in New Brunswick — bringing this review to your communities. Through in-person conversations, we continued to listen, learn, and connect around the future of energy in the province. Here's what we've been up to — and what’s coming in October.

• Hosted Four In-Person Engagement Sessions

We’ve now completed a series of in-person engagement sessions in Moncton, Saint John, Saint Andrews, and Fredericton. These sessions were designed to give the public a direct opportunity to connect with us — the engagement leads — in a more personal setting.

Participants were able to:

• Ask questions about NB Power and New Brunswick’s energy future
• Share concerns and ideas in both one-on-one conversations, group Q&A discussions, and written methods
• Engage directly with the team guiding this work

These sessions added valuable depth to our understanding and helped surface local perspectives that are now informing the next phase of our work. We’re grateful to everyone who took the time to attend and contribute.

We noticed that attendance at our four public sessions in September was lower than we hoped; however, there are still plenty of ways to participate and share your voice in this important review of your public utility:

• Complete our survey – will go live in October.
• Send us your questions, comments, or submissions via email.
• Join our next live virtual session – details coming soon!

This is your opportunity to help shape the future of your public utility and we encourage you to get involved in whatever way works best for you.

• Meetings and Engagement

This month, we hosted five stakeholder meetings, received 12 questions from our email address and reviewed 13 written additional submissions, while our in-depth review of the Utility continues to be carried out.

Here’s what we’ll be up to in October:

• Upcoming in person session’s

Our next round of in person sessions have been finalized. In addition to the four session locations previously shared, we have heard the call for an additional session. We’re happy to share that we’ll also be visiting Woodstock in October. We hope to see you at these sessions. 

• We Shared “What We Heard…So Far” — Now We’re Adding More

We’ve completed the initial “What We Heard… So Far” report, capturing the feedback gathered through early engagement. Read the summary below! That document was just the beginning — a snapshot of the conversations, ideas, and concerns shared with us up to that point. Since its release, we’ve continued to listen.

Additional input from our in-person session has deepened our understanding of what matters most to New Brunswickers and validated points shared throughout “What We Heard…So Far”.

We’re grateful for the continued engagement and look forward to sharing how this evolving input is informing next steps.

 Summary of “What We Heard…So Far”

Public Programming, Education and Support

People want clearer communication about the Energy and Utilities Board’s role, stronger support for energy-poor households, and more public education on energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Strategy, Partnerships and Collaboration

There’s a call for a unified provincial energy strategy, better regional collaboration, and openness to exploring partnerships or restructuring NB Power—though opinions vary on how far that should go.

Rates, Debt, and Financial Stability

Concerns center around rising electricity rates, NB Power’s debt management, the underperformance of Point Lepreau, and the impact of high energy costs on industrial competitiveness.

Governance, Oversight, and Management

People want less political interference, a clearer and more focused mandate for NB Power, improvements to board and management structures, and better succession planning for future leadership.

This past month has marked the third active month of engagement. We’re staying busy as we fit in many genuine conversations and discussions around the future of energy in New Brunswick. Understanding the daily impact of energy on everyone in our province, we are taking great care with this review. Take a look at what we’ve been up to this month and what’s to come in September. 

• Hosted a live information session

We hosted our second live information session on August 20^th. We understand that we had previously mentioned posting content from the sessions, and we sincerely apologize for the delay. Due technical challenges in providing recordings in both English and French means we are unable to share meeting video beyond the scheduled time. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

We’ve received many thoughtful questions and comments from people across New Brunswick and are actively exploring more ways to respond to them. As you’ve noticed, you can find a Q&A video on our website where we answer some common questions.

• Drafted a report to share What We Heard to Date

We are currently drafting a 'What We Heard to Date' document to reflect the feedback we've received so far. These points will be continuously validated and expanded as engagement continues.

This piece of work is just the beginning of our reporting process. Additional input from submissions, meetings with First Nations, NB Power, and both in-person and virtual sessions will continue to shape and refine our understanding of what your expectations and experiences are.

• Meetings and public engagement

We hosted seven stakeholder meetings which brings our total up to 13 meetings. To date, we have received 163 questions of varying topics and are reviewing nine written submissions from our email address.

This past month, our team has continued work on the NB Power Comprehensive Review, focusing on transparency, engagement, and thorough analysis. Here’s a look at what we’ve accomplished and what lies ahead.

• Recorded a Question-and-Answer (Q&A) video to answer your questions

We recently recorded a Q&A session to answer questions from June’s live virtual session and emails received through the NB Power Comprehensive Review email account. To date, we’ve received 91 emails since it became active on June 20th, and we’re reviewing them as they come in and answering as many questions as possible. You can find the recording on our website.

• Reviewed utility documents and met with NB Power teams

Over the past month, we carefully reviewed materials provided by stakeholders and met with them with specific areas of discussion regarding such things as rate structure, governance, operations, regulatory regime, transition to renewables and more. We also reviewed materials from NB Power and met with their staff and board members.  We also began visiting sites to better understand NB Powers operations at all levels.

• Meetings

We hosted six stakeholder meetings and have more planned in the coming weeks.

Together, these efforts demonstrate our intent to maintain openness, conduct careful analysis, and provide multiple channels for public participation—things that we as a team deem essential.

Here’s what we’ll be up to in August:

• Upcoming in-person sessions

Mark your calendars! Our first round of in-person sessions are scheduled for September. See the details below. Additional sessions are being planned for the coming months.  

• Meetings continue

We have a full roster of meetings and engagements planned- more important conversations to come.

•  Develop initial recommendations and identify additional information needed.

We will start to develop key themes to help put some structure around our report and draft initial recommendations from our work so far. These will continue to be added to, validated and analyzed as we continue engagement, and further work is carried out. 

In the past month, we made significant progress in our work to assess the energy future for New Brunswick. From productive meetings to the initial public engagement, here’s what we’ve been up to:

• Reviewing documentation 
  We’ve started reviewing key documents we requested as part of our work. These reports provide a good starting point to better understand historical background, and provide relevant context, essential facts, as well as analyses and options that will help develop future recommendations.

• Meeting with NB Power Executives and Board 
  We spent two full days in our initial meetings with Executives at NB Power and the Board of Directors. These discussions gave us a better understanding of their priorities, challenges, and opportunities, paving the way for us to examine those matters further.

• Hosting our first virtual public information session 
  We also held our first virtual public information session this month, bringing together about 90 attendees. Participants shared 41 thoughtful questions, many we answered during the live session, and the remainder we are undertaking to answer in other formats (perhaps recorded sessions uploaded on the review website). 

Each of these actions moves us closer to our goal: providing recommendations that promote fair and stable energy rates, reliable service, and prepare NB Power for the future. They also help ensure the review process is collaborative and inclusive. New Brunswickers deserve a say in decisions about their public utility. As one Lead stated:  

“Enabling New Brunswickers to voice their concerns, their views and perspectives about NB Power cannot be overstated. NB Power belongs to all of you. Your input matters as to what NB Power should be in the future.”

The first public session was an important first step in keeping New Brunswickers informed and engaged, and we remain committed to continuing in this way. Here’s what we’ll be focusing on next:

• Launching a citizen survey 
  We’ll soon ask for your input through a survey to learn of the importance of electricity in your life here in this Province. What does it mean for you. Your feedback will provide invaluable insights into our search for recommendations.

• Engaging with First Nations and stakeholders 
  We remain committed to ongoing dialogue with First Nations and stakeholders, to ensure that their voices guide the development of a balanced and forward-looking energy strategy for the Province.

Stay tuned for more updates next month and keep an eye out for our upcoming survey. Your voice matters, and we look forward to hearing from you.