AI-generated summary
· Application · 04/20/2026
NSEB Board Staff issued 16 information requests to Nova Scotia Power regarding the $4.4M Big Island Subsea Cable Replacement application under CI C0080101
AI summary
- Board Staff, through Senior Advisory Chris Jiang P.Eng., issued IR-1 through IR-16 on April 20, 2026, with responses due May 11, 2026, scrutinizing Nova Scotia Power Incorporated's application for subsequent approval of the 2025 Ace Plan capital item for the 539N-210 Big Island Subsea Cable Replacement ($4,388,679).
- IRs 1–3 probe the technical design of the proposed replacement cable(s), including voltage/capacity, AC/DC configuration, technical specifications, georeferenced routing maps, installation methods, permits/approvals, and onshore civil works, with IR-2(d) specifically requesting cable engineering design, load studies, and system planning reports.
- IRs 4–5 and IR-13 examine the condition and fault history of both the 1977 and 1990s-era subsea cables, including the cause of the 1990s cable failure during a major storm, whether repair was attempted, and whether the 1977 cable has experienced faults since being re-energized in 1999.
- IR-10 demands the full technical analysis and Economic Analysis Model (EAM) underlying NSP's rejection of two land-based alternatives (overhead line and trenched underground cable along the Big Island causeway), including a side-by-side comparison table of all options and a specific technical basis for why a trenched underground cable was deemed higher risk than the subsea option that itself failed in a storm.
- IR-14 raises a Rate Base prudency concern, asking NSP to confirm whether the undepreciated capital cost of the failed 1999 cable was properly expensed upon failure and quantifying any return on rate base earned on that asset since its failure, while IR-11 questions why a $849,612 variance from the 2026 ACE Plan estimate was needed to cover items described as common tasks for subsea projects.
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What was filed
Documents filed on this day
- 101647 NSEB (NSPI) IR-1 to IR-16