Nova Scotia Power continues to use its confidential stamp, despite a government regulator’s order to the power company for more transparency to the public and the media.
On Thursday, a controversial hearing reconvenes into Nova Scotia Power’s request to spend $208 million to build a power plant using waste wood in Port Hawkesbury. The utility plans to own the biomass plant and NewPage Port Hawkesbury Corp. will operate it, using an old burner at the plant valued at $80 million.
But the public will not see how the biomass project stacks up against other renewable energy projects the power company solicited.
A key document providing an analysis of these renewable energy projects has been classified confidential. Twenty-two other pieces of evidence, out of a file of 61 exhibits, have been kept under wraps, mostly at the request of Nova Scotia Power.
"Any time there’s a large volume of redactions or a large volume of evidence that has been kept confidential you should be suspicious and you should be concerned that it is being misused or overused," said consumer advocate John Merrick.
Merrick says he is going to review all the documents labelled "confidential" to see if it is justified.
"There’s a practical aspect to this; obviously every single document that NSPI wants to keep confidential . . ., they shouldn’t have to go down to the board and have a hearing to decide. So they’re given a certain amount of discretion . . . to claim confidentiality . . . but it is always subject to review or challenge and will depend on what they try to keep confidential," said Merrick Friday. He represents the utility’s 440,000 customers.
In April, Nova Scotia Power applied for approval of a capital work order to build the biomass power plant.
The same month it issued a request for proposals for other renewable energy projects.
A hearing into the biomass project got underway in late July but was abruptly halted by the board chairman in order to compare the biomass project with the other renewable energy proposals the power company solicited.
When the hearing resumes Thursday it will deal with this project review and likely be held behind closed doors since the document has been stamped confidential, said Merrick.
Review board spokesman Paul Allen said the board tries to get as much information into the public domain as possible.
Allen said in this matter there is competitive information and business agreements that are being discussed and in the process of being developed that are sensitive.
In May, the board told Nova Scotia Power it was upset with the number of documents filed by the power utility that were being marked confidential without proper substantiation.
In its decision on the use of confidential documents, "board decisions must contain sufficient information so that a reader can clearly understand how the board reached its decision," the board wrote.
It also said the public and the media should have maximum access to evidence filed by the power company when it comes before the board for approval of power rates and capital expenditures.
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