Nova Scotia Power wants customers to foot leftover $25M Fiona bill

Post-tropical storm Fiona may be in the rear-view mirror but it's still on the front burner for Nova Scotia Power.

The company is stuck with a $24.6-million bill that it says is threateningits profits.

This week Nova Scotia Power asked regulators for permission to collect $24.6 million in Fiona-related operating costs like meals, travel and overtime from ratepayers over an unspecified period of time.

It is the first time the company has asked the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) to defer so-called operating, maintenance and general costs.

"Given the significance and magnitude of Fiona, as the most significant storm that has ever impacted Nova Scotia and N.S. Power, the utility was not able to absorb these costs," Nova Scotia Power said in its Oct. 31 application.

The September 2022 storm led to the most expensive restoration ever for the company, costing it $114 million.

Impact on bottom line

Nearly $90 million has already been booked as a capital cost that is, as an asset that allows Nova Scotia Power to charge ratepayers interest on the spending.

But Fiona-related operating, maintenance and general costs costs remain on the books.

Nova Scotia Powersays had they been expensed in 2022, it would have lowered itsregulated return on equity to about 7.3 per centbelow the minimum 8.75 per centapproved by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

The company is still worried about the impact on the bottom line.

"If costs from Hurricane Fiona cannot be deferred, they will need to be expensed in the current period, which precludes N.S. Power from being able to recover its prudently incurred costs," Nova Scotia Power told regulators.

"This would have a significant impact on the financial health of the utility."

Contracts, overtime, meals and travel

The biggest Fiona operating costs were $19 million for contracts, $2.9 million for overtime and $2 millionfor meals and travel.

Before Fiona came ashore, the company had already spent $21 million on storm-related costs in 2022. That was $10 million more it had embedded in rates to cover storm-related costs.

Fiona hit before Nova Scotia Power was allowed to chargeratepayers a storm rider to cover the cost of severe weather restoration.

Nova Scotia Power declined comment.