Wedding venue has waited months for NB Power to turn on power

A wedding destination in rural New Brunswick has had to host several weddings in the dark while waiting for NB Power to hook up their electricity.  

Off the Beaten Path Event Services in Burtts Corner has taken to using extension cords and generators to power weddings. 

Danielle Bird, the company's owner, says she requested power be hooked up in March. 

"A couple of months later, we called to see what was going on and the lady we spoke to said that it was still processing," said Bird.

"We called again after that and our request had actually expired, so we had to start again." 

Bird has been using workarounds to power her weddings while she waits for the utility.

But she says improvising has its drawbacks. 

"Last weekend when the caterer showed up and plugged her oven in it blew the breaker in the generator," said Bird.

"So we lost everything. The DJ lost his music and lights and we lost our lights in the barn. So we ended up having to run four or five big extension cords from the barn to our house." 

Bird says she's never had any issues with the company prior to requesting electricity for the venue.  

She says after months of asking the utility for service, a crew marked out where power poles would be placed last week. 

"There's just been quite a few bumps in the road trying to get [electricity]," said Bird.

"It's completely out of our hands, and it's frustrating." 

Meghan Gerrish, a NB Power spokesperson, said in an email that she could not discuss specific requests of customers.

She said the utility is conscious of the needs of their customers, including small businesses.

"Our agents and employees are empowered to resolve issues quickly and put the operational needs of our customers first, while working within our policies and procedures to complete work orders and other services," she wrote.