I must be getting old, or I recieve too many messages in one day. At any rate while trying to find something in my chat box I came across the biggest pile of cow dung you will ever see. I cut and pasted it from my chat box, it is as follows. From, Stephen Mc Neil Our Government is very disappointed with the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board’s decision that it will go to ratepayers to maximize recovery of Nova Scotia Powers unpaid fuel bill in the coming year. As a result, the reduction in power bills and savings the government argued for by removing the efficiency tax will be offset. Power bills will stay the same in 2015. The government didnt remove the efficiency tax so that it could free up room to cover other costs. We wanted ratepayers to get the much needed and deserved rate relief theyve been asking for. Our proposals to the board would have paid down the fuel deferral but would still have ensured some rate relief to Nova Scotians. Had the government not removed the efficiency charge from power bills, customers would have seen a four to five per cent increase in their bills with this decision. We had proposed Nova Scotia Power use savings from non-fuel costs by using the $33.3-million overpayment to pay down the deferral before going back to ratepayers. The board has factored this into its decision and ratepayers will realize the benefit of these savings. Rate affordability remains one of the primary drivers of the governments approach to electricity. Thats why we removed the efficiency charge from power bills and restructured those costs so that Nova Scotia Power shareholders pay for some of the costs, with the remaining costs competing directly with fuel prices, so ratepayers always see savings through competition. Its also why were opening the electricity market, introducing competition for suppliers of low-impact renewable sources to provide electricity to customers. We are committed to continue on the path of giving consumers more choice and will continue to do all we can to ensure Nova Scotia Power is held to the highest accountability and to advocate for continued rate stability for Nova Scotians. In the next year, the government will bring in legislation that will better protect ratepayers by changing the relationship between Nova Scotia Power and the Utility and Review Board. It is our goal to ensure more affordable rates and greater accountability on bills. Thank you for writing. Stephen Chat Conversation End
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 14:44:06 +0000