Province says P.E.I. power grid review coming soon, as MLAs from 3 parties raise concerns

The provincial government says a review aimed at improving the reliability and affordability of Prince Edward Island's energy grid will be released next month, after MLAs from all three parties represented in the legislature raised concerns.

PC MLA Hilton MacLennan said the Island's growing population is putting increased demand on the grid.

"A lot more customers have increased their usage of electricity, whether it's from their conversion to heat pumps or electric modes of transportation. The demand on our grid is concerning," MacLennan said during question period Wednesday in the P.E.I. Legislative Assembly.

"Before standing committee, Maritime Electric has expressed the same worry with our increased usage."

MacLennan pointed to the power disruptions in February in Summerside, which operates its own utility, Summerside Electric.

The city generates about 60 per cent of its electricity through renewable sources like solar and wind, but it still relies on Maritime Electric's transmission grid for power that Summerside buys from New Brunswick.

A failure at Maritime Electric's Sherbrooke substation, located just north of the city, led to significant power challenges in February, and a temporary mobile transformer from Newfoundland had to be installed to stabilize the situation.

On Wednesday, MacLennan asked Gilles Arsenault, the province's minister of environment, energy and climate action, what his department is doing to prevent shortages, rolling blackouts, outages and similar incidents in the future.

Arsenault said the province is actively working with P.E.I.'s two utilities, as well as with utilities off-Island to get more information from other jurisdictions, and is looking at the feasibility of additional renewable energy sources like solar and wind farms.

He also confirmed the province's energy system blueprint will be released this year, setting out a "comprehensive strategy" for the next 10 years.

"The department is continuously meeting with our Atlantic counterparts and having conversations with them. It's a normal practice for us through the energy corporation and through now the energy review that we're conducting," he told reporters.

He added that the review, which has been in progress for the past year, is looking at things in detail from utility providers to the province's energy structure. He expects it to be released sometime in May.

Concerns raised over possible rate hikes, fossil fuel investment

Meanwhile, Liberal MLA Robert Henderson raised concerns about potential rate increases for Island residents following a major rate hike recently by N.B. Power.

He asked Arsenault whether Maritime Electric is expected to apply for a similar increase with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission.

Arsenault responded: "I'm not aware of anything going forward to the regulator," adding that the province has "no indication" that the cost increases affecting N.B. Power's residential customers will apply to Islanders.

Green MLA Peter Bevan-Baker raised concerns about Maritime Electric's proposal before IRAC to expand its power generation using fossil-fuel technology.

The $427-million plan includes a new combustion turbine, a battery for energy storage, and internal combustion engines — costs that will eventually be passed on to customers.

"Does Maritime Electric's vision of P.E.I.'s energy future align with the province's net-zero goals and the responsibility that we have as a province to provide an essential service — power — to Islanders that is affordable, that is reliable and that is clean?" Bevan-Baker asked.

Arsenault responded: "You'll find when we release our energy review that pretty much all of our partners, which would be Summerside Electric and Maritime Electric, do align with our goals of aligning with the net zero."