NSP Paints Electric Co-op Into $30 Million Corner

Members of the municipal electric co-op were caught off guard by a move from Nova Scotia Power aimed at keeping them locked into the company's power grid. NSP is looking for roughly $30 million in total from the five members of the co-op should the independent utilities decide to purchase power from another supplier. Lunenburg mayor Laurence Mawhinney says it's hard to swallow because the co-op has been working hard to find cheaper power for its customers for the past seven years.



Mawhinney says it's frustrating given the province agreed to open the wholesale power market in 2005 so the utilities could explore buying power from other suppliers. Members of the co-op appeared before the utility and review board earlier this month during a hearing attached to NSP's new rate application. The co-op is made up five independent utilities in the province which include the town's of Lunenburg, Riverport, Mahone Bay, Berwick and Antigonish. No word on when a decision is expected from the URB.