Ottawa negotiating $500M bailout for Nova Scotia Power over Muskrat Falls delays

Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia's privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.

Wilkinson said that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over «the short term.»

Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg said the deal, once approved by the province's energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited «to be around the rate of inflation,» as costs are spread over a number of years.

The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.

Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.