Electricity rates will increase for customers of Newfoundland Power and most customers of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro by an average of 7 percent on July 1, 2025. The PUB says it’s to reflect the conclusion of Newfoundland Power’s recent general rate application, a Hydro rate increase, and the annual July 1 adjustments.

The customer rate increase of 7 percent reflects the Board’s direction that rate smoothing should be implemented so that rates increase more gradually contributing to rate stability for customers while enabling the utilities to recover prudently incurred costs over a reasonable period of time. In the absence of rate smoothing, the required customer rate increase on July 1, 2025 would have been over 15 percent to reflect the following:

1) Newfoundland Power’s general rate application increase of approximately 8.5 percent. In the general rate application, the Board reduced the costs which could be recovered from customers by over $14 million through a lower return for Newfoundland Power than proposed, a reduction in the proposed operating costs and the exclusion of short-term incentive payments to the executive and directors. These reductions were the primary driver in lowering the estimated rate increase from 10.6 percent to 8.5 percent.

2) A Hydro rate increase in accordance with the direction of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador for a domestic customer rate increase of 2.25 percent to provide for the recovery of Hydro’s costs, including Muskrat Falls costs.

3) The annual July 1 adjustment of approximately 4.5 percent, primarily to allow Newfoundland Power to recover power supply costs from Hydro.