The average Maritime Electric customer in Prince Edward Island will see an uptick in their power bill next month as the utility seeks to recover costs from Hurricane Fiona. Maritime Electric, which provides roughly 90 per cent of the energy on the Island, sought approval from the provincial regulatory and appeals commission to recover the costs of restoring power after the 2022 storm. The total cost is roughly $41.2 million. Last month, the commission ruled Maritime Electric could recover 90 per cent (or $37 million) of the Fiona restoration costs from customers. “The Commission is satisfied that 90 per cent of MECL’s costs were prudent and necessary in the circumstances,” the past decision reads. “The Commission disallows recovery of 10 per cent of the Fiona restoration costs on the basis that a portion of the costs attributed to Fiona-restoration were, in all likelihood, related to clearing vegetation that should otherwise have been prudently managed by MECL in the years before Fiona.” On Wednesday, the commission approved a rate adjustment to recoup those costs. It will go into effect on Saturday. According to the commission, the average residential customer who uses 1,000 kWh per month will see a 3.1 per cent cost increase per year until the Fiona expenses are fully recovered. The commission has given Maritime Electric 40 years to recover its capital costs and eight years to recover its operating and financing costs. “(The commission) has approved Maritime Electric to include the capital costs in its rate base, which allows them to earn a return on capital costs,” the decision reads. “This is normal practice in utility regulation. “(The commission) changed the recovery period for operating and financing costs to 8 years to help manage the impact on customers by spreading these costs over a longer period of time.” Last December, the commission approved a $16-million “equity injection” so Maritime Electric could stabilize its finances as it continued to cope with the fallout of the storm. Fiona’s impact Hurricane Fiona hit Prince Edward Island as a post-tropical storm on Sept. 12, 2022, lasting roughly 12 hours. The highest recorded wind speeds reached more than 130 km/h and more than 60 mm of rain was observed in some places. “The storm arrived during high tide, creating a storm surge not seen before in PEI,” the commission’s decision reads. “Fiona is considered to be the most intense post-tropical storm to have ever hit the Island.” The provincial government said more than 79,000 acres of forest areas were affected by blowdowns caused by the storm, which resulted in losses for many of the Island’s 16,00 private woodlot owners. In early 2023, a Maritime Electric report said Fiona caused outages for roughly 83,200 customers. Most people had their power restored within four days, but recovery efforts continued until Oct. 14, 2022. For more P.E.I. news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
