Electricity rates to jump 13% — if NL Hydro gets what it wants

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro wants to increase the rate it charges customers by 13 per cent over two years.

Hydro is making an application to the Public Utilities Board (PUB) to increase rates by 6.6 per cent in 2018 and 6.4 per cent in 2019.

We've heard that from customers that the reliability that they received in the 2013-2014 time frame was not acceptable. We agree with that.- Dawn Dalley

​Hydro said Friday that the rate increase is necessary to cover the costs of improving the system and preventing wide spread outages like the ones that happened more than three years ago. The system failure has become commonly known as Dark NL. 

"We have put in new transmission lines and done a lot of work to improve reliability since 2013 and 2014," said Dawn Dalley, Hydro's vice president of regulatory affairs and corporate services.

"Reliability has improved greatly as a result of those investments. So now we need to take those costs and put them into electricity rates, so that's what's driving it."

Dalley told CBC News Hydro has heard from customers who say they've seen many tax increases over the years and can't bear a rate increase on a necessity like electricity.

"But we need to continue to invest in the electricity system and we have heard that from customers as well that the reliability that they received in the 2013-2014 time frame was not acceptable. We agree with that so we have made a lot of investments to improve reliability," she said.

Hydro still has to make a case for the increase to the PUB before it can happen.

Dalley expects it will take eight to 12 months before the board sets a new rate.