EUB Approves Smart Meter Project

NB Power has received the green light to roll out smart meters to its customers across the province.

The New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board approved the $110-million project, also known as advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), in a decision released Friday.

In its decision, the NBEUB said the utility presented a “positive business case” and the project is “in the public interest.”

“Having considered all of the evidence and submissions in this matter, the Board is satisfied that the AMI capital project is prudent and that it is in the public interest,” the board wrote in its 38-page decision.

That is quite the change from NB Power’s first application in 2018 when the board said the project was “not in the public interest” and the utility failed to make a positive business case.

During a hearing in January, officials with NB Power said they took feedback from the 2018 hearing and worked with industry experts to explore potential savings and costs they had not previously considered.

The utility said the project would produce $137.6 million worth of benefits over the 15-year economic life of the meters, yielding net benefits of $28 million.

But after evaluating evidence presented at the hearing, the board concluded the project would produce $122.5 million worth of benefits.

The NBEUB also increased the estimated project value to $110.8 million from $109.6 million, leading to net benefits of $11.7 million.

“The Board concludes that, accounting for the above adjustments to the quantified benefits, the proposed AMI project Business Case presents a positive net present value, with a benefit-to-cost ratio of 1.11,” wrote the NBEUB.

“The Board finds that the short-term and long-term outcomes and the demonstrated benefits to ratepayers outweigh the expected costs that ratepayers will bear.”

The rollout of the project is expected to take three years.