Hydro pushes for 6.4 per cent hike for island customers

The price of electricity is set to rise for customers living in Newfoundland.

The Public Utilities Board has approved a general rate application for Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro that proposes a 6.4 per cent increase, or an additional 0.8 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro said the rate estimate could change as the application still needs final approval.

According to a statement put out late Fridayafternoon, the increase in price is due to an increase in fuel costs.

"Today we rely heavily on oil to generate electricity for customers at our Holyrood plant and the forecast price of oil has increased significantly since rates last changed in 2018," read the statement.

The company said Hydro"does not make any profit on the cost of fuel to service customers. These costs are direct flow-through, with no markup."

The application was approved Sept. 11without any notice to the media. It did publish a tweet late Friday evening, directing people to the statement on their website.

Hydro said it was going to send a press release to media pending the board's final approval.

Good news for Labrador

Hydro also announced that for most residential customers on the interconnected system in Labrador, a 3.1 per cent decrease is estimated, or a reduction of 0.1 cent per kilowatt-hour.

"The proposed decrease is largely the result of increased customer usage and customer growth in the region," the statement reads.

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The company said the final electricity rates for most customers are expected in the coming weeks.

The new hydro rates are expected to be put in place by Oct.1.

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