New Brunswick premier frustrated by EUB’s ruling on carbon cost adjuster

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt was asked about a recent ruling on the carbon cost adjuster.

Premier Susan Holt says she isn’t happy New Brunswickers are paying more than they should at the pumps.

During a government announcement of a new 50-bed addiction treatment facility, the premier was peppered with questions from reporters about a Friday decision from the Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) to essentially cancel the province’s legislative change to remove the carbon cost adjuster.

“It’s clear that New Brunswickers have been overcharged and we wanted to take that pressure off of them,” says Holt. “It’s been clear that the formula doesn’t accurately cover costs that haven’t been proven and New Brunswickers deserve a break. We were disappointed that the EUB didn’t recognize that and just chose to apply a figure we’ve already told them is wrong to the moment at the time.”

On Monday, the cost of the carbon adjuster was set to come off fuel prices, which the province said would save the average housing anywhere from $150-to-$200 a year at the gas pump. It also translates to about eight cents of saving for each litre of gas.

Instead, the price at the pumps went unchanged with the utilities board issuing an interim order that cancelled the removal of the carbon adjuster with an equal increase.

Holt says the province is currently looking at their options ahead of the board’s expected ruling in February.

The legislation was passed on Oct. 30, leaving the EUB with a month to determine how fuel prices would change.

“We believe that a month is plenty of time to compile costs from industry and to analyze those and to put something in place,” Holt notes. “They’ve chosen to take more time. We want to see relief delivered to Brunswickers so we’re looking at other options.

“The EUB has a mandate and the tools to set a maximum price (of gas), to set a margin, and to ensure the lowest possible price to New Brunswickers and consistency of supply. That is their job, that is their mandate, we believe they could have done that and should have done it in this last month when we gave them the time.”

The EUB made the ruling a day after a public hearing where officials from the province’s fuel industry warned of the possible impacts of a drop in pump prices, including the closure of stations across the province.

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