NSEB Board Staff issued 18 Information Requests to Nova Scotia Power on the $3.66M Seton Ridge Underground Network capital application, probing cost allocation, overhead alternatives, and regulatory compliance.

M12900 · Nova Scotia Power Inc. - CI C0083451 - Seton Ridge Underground Network - $3,656,609 (U&U)Unforeseen & Unbudgeted (U&U) Capital Items:C0083451 - Seton Ridge Underground Network - $3,656,609 $0 spent as at March 31, 2026 Partially Confidential

AI summary

Board Staff (IR-1 through IR-4) sought detailed cost breakdowns for future-proofing provisions, developer-completed civil works, the expected timeline for 25 kV conversion, and clarification of what the $3,656,609 project cost actually covers versus any overhead-equivalent cost contribution from the developer.
IRs 5 and 6 requested a full lifecycle cost and economic comparison between underground and overhead options — including reliability, safety, O&M, outage-restoration, and vegetation management costs — along with NS Power's Economic Analysis Model (EAM) or equivalent analysis.
IR-10 directly invoked Section 2.11 of NS Power's Regulations (underground electric services) to test whether the developer is bearing the appropriate capital contribution equal to the cost differential between underground and overhead, and whether secondary service costs are correctly excluded from the rate base amount sought.
IRs 11 through 13 challenged the feasibility and necessity of the underground choice, asking NS Power to produce its detailed analysis showing overhead is not scalable, to disclose any HRM agreements or bylaws mandating underground service, and to justify a 10% contingency on risks described as the developer's responsibility.
IRs 14 through 18 scrutinized a 2021 system impact study (420-1021-IS146) for currency and relevance, requested SAIFI/SAIDI reliability data from 2020–2026, queried the status of the Suzie Lake substation scheduled for 2023 completion, and asked whether the proposed underground project constitutes a 'Network Upgrade' for which NS Power — rather than the developer or HRM — bears full cost responsibility.

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What was filed

Documents filed on this day

102523 NSEB (NSPI) IR 1 to 18 other_documents