In a conference call to discuss the power company’s latest financial results, Emera chief executive Scott Balfour said on Friday that while the company would continue to invest in the safety and reliability of its grid, it would not be able to spend in other projects in the province due to cap. “The latest capital plan included planned investments of $500 million in the Eastern Clean Energy Initiative, including the Atlantic Loop, to fund new wind generation, transmission, infrastructure upgrades and battery storage to facilitate the transition from coal-fired generation,” he said. “Given the restrictions imposed by Bill 212, these cleaner energy investments have had to be put on hold as our capital investments in Nova Scotia Power must now focus solely on maintaining system reliability.” Scott Balfour is CEO of Emera, the parent company of Nova Scotia Power. (CBC) The Atlantic Loop is a proposed $5 billion transmission megaproject that will give the region more access to Labrador and Quebec hydropower. The company had filed for a rate hike of nearly 14 per cent over two years with the provincial regulator earlier this year, but the province stepped in and passed legislation to limit rate increases to 1.8 per cent over the next two years. excluding increases linked to fuel costs. Changes to the Public Utilities Act also target the utility’s bottom line by preventing the regulator from approving a rate of return on equity higher than 9.25 per cent, compared to up to 9.5 per cent requested by Nova Scotia Power. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said on Twitter last month his government “will take the necessary steps to protect you from unfair rate hikes while making sure your lights stay on.” But Emera says the restrictions mean it won’t be able to invest in what it called decarbonization efforts in Nova Scotia, even as it does elsewhere in its business. “We remain deeply concerned about the long-term impact of this legislation on Nova Scotia Power customers, as it delays the transition to clean energy and will ultimately result in higher, not lower, costs for customers,” said Balfour. Both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have committed to phasing out coal generation by 2030, with Nova Scotia legislating its goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to at least 53 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Emera’s comments came as it reported a third-quarter profit of $167 million, or 63 cents per share, compared with a loss of $70 million, or 27 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Operating income was nearly $1.84 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from nearly $1.15 billion in the same quarter last year. On an adjusted basis, Emera said it earned 76 cents per share in the latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 68 cents per share in the third quarter of 2021. Balfour said the company’s earnings growth was primarily due to the continued strong performance of Florida utilities.
