Topic:"Rate Smoothing Adjustment" in M12619

2026 Annual Capital Expenditure (ACE) Plan (NSEB M12619) NSPI Responses to NSEB Information Requests 1 Request IR-130: 2 3 Distribution Capital Investments 4 5 D01: C0080266, New Distribution Right of Way Phase 11 6 7 What is the expected...

AI summary The document discusses the 2026 Annual Capital Expenditure (ACE) Plan, specifically addressing questions related to the New Distribution Right of Way Phase 11. It outlines expected improvements in SAIDI and SAIFI metrics due to vegetation management work, acknowledges the difficulty in quantifying improvements in CKADI and CKAFI, and provides details on the cost and impact of 2024 vegetation management work.

Project Management and Cost Overruns - The ACE Plan yet again reveals a systemic lack of accountability regarding project - management. NSPI's attempt to limit the definition of a "Scope Change" appears designed - to reduce or avoid oversi...

AI summary The ACE Plan highlights a systemic lack of accountability in project management by NSPI, with efforts to limit the definition of 'Scope Change' to avoid oversight. Cost overruns have occurred, with increased spending on projects like Hydro plants and transportation vehicles raising concerns about ratepayer burden and reliability of original estimates.

Call for Regulatory Rigour and Accountability - The Department requests that the Board scrutinize the 2026 ACE Plan; seeing it not as a - collection of routine repairs, but rather recognizing it as potentially yet another round in - the sy...

AI summary The Department of Energy requests the Board to rigorously scrutinize the 2026 ACE Plan, questioning its potential to inflate asset purchases and urging the cancellation or deferral of expenditures without proper justification. It also calls for disallowing ratepayer funding for projects that would represent a 'double recovery' for system failures already covered by the utility.

tions that appear in annual ACE Plans, or a continued lack of quantifiable benefits over time related to the Five-Year Reliability Plan, for example, could cause the Board to reevaluate this position. [174] The foregoing discussion does no...

AI summary The document discusses the impact of increasing capital expenditures on rate pressures and the need for careful review of capital approvals. It highlights that while current capital costs are already included in 2026 and 2027 rates, there is a limit to how much rate increases and deferral accounts can be tolerated before affecting financial flexibility and fairness to future ratepayers.

- 1. NS Power will provide Designated Confidential Information, as defined herein, to the Designated Recipient as defined in the undertaking to which this schedule is attached. - 2. Designated Confidential Information shall consist of mate...

AI summary NS Power outlines the types of information designated as confidential in its 2026 ACE Plan filing, including engineering studies, commercial quotations, and proprietary third-party information, which are confirmed as confidential by the Nova Scotia Energy Board.

e describe the planned maintenance schedule for right-of-way widening. 2. Please describe how the planned maintenance schedule accounts for local vegetation, weather and other geographical attributes. In reference to Demonstrated Reliabili...

AI summary The text includes questions about NS Power's maintenance schedules, the impact of a $1.3B investment on reliability metrics like SAIDI, the use of the 2025 vegetation management budget, and the selection and remote operation of reclosers and trip savers. It also asks for a breakdown of 2025 investments.

ghts; and 4. External factors driving costs, including supply chain issues, shifts in the regular/overtime labour breakdown due to other utility programs. 2. In the referenced RIR, NS Power stated: NS Power has data on single-family and mu...

AI summary The text discusses NS Power's data tracking challenges, specifically regarding residential additions and internal work orders. It requests information on changes to work orders since 2025, updates on a continuous improvement initiative, and plans for future system upgrades.

Standard of Review - Under Section 35A of the Public Utilities Act , the legal burden of proof rests with the public utility. - NS Power is required to establish that its proposed expenditures are prudent, necessary, and - aligned with Lea...

AI summary The standard of review under the Public Utilities Act places the burden of proof on NS Power to justify expenditures as prudent, necessary, and aligned with Least-Cost Utility Planning. The Board must apply heightened scrutiny due to affordability concerns, ensuring investments are justified with verifiable evidence and avoid cost overruns.

Request to the Board - The review of projects contained in Appendix A representing projects with escalation levels of - 50% or greater indicates significant increases across Generation, Transmission, Distribution, - Hydro, and General Plan...

AI summary The document requests the Board to conduct enhanced scrutiny of projects with significant cost escalations across various categories. It argues that these increases are not solely due to external factors but reflect broader issues like scope expansion and misclassification of expenses. The Department recommends procedural reviews to ensure proper governance and ratepayer protection.

5.1 Capital Spending Growth DOE submits that capital spending has increased from historical levels, representing a dramatic acceleration that exceeds inflation and economic growth. This is presented as evidence of excessive "asset loading....

AI summary The DOE argues that Nova Scotia Power's capital spending has increased dramatically, exceeding inflation and economic growth, and raises concerns about ratepayer capacity to absorb this spending. NS Power counters that this growth is due to system transformation, aging infrastructure, and decarbonization requirements, and emphasizes that capital investment is driven by operational needs rather than economic indicators.

OPENING STATEMENT 27 NS DEPT. OF ENERGY 1 the burden of those overruns falls onto ratepayers. 2 For example, some of the hydro plants 3 produce minimal energy and yet work on them has often 4 proceeded in the face of significant cost overr...

AI summary The Department of Energy highlights concerns over cost overruns in hydro plant projects and calls for regulatory scrutiny of the 2026 ACE Plan, emphasizing the need for accountability and alignment with the IESO mandate. It also requests the Board to disallow ratepayer funding for certain projects, arguing that financial consequences should be borne by shareholders, not ratepayers.

NS POWER PANEL 449 Questions, (Murphy) 1 and the customer hours of interruptions increased. 2 So and over that period of time, I 3 believe $57 million was spent on D001 and the right-of-way 4 work. 5 So in that context, as it relates to 6...

AI summary The text discusses the expenditure of $57 million on D001 and right-of-way work, and questions whether ratepayers received value for that investment under normal weather conditions. Context is provided regarding changes in system operating conditions between 2021 and 2024, including increased wind gusts.