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2mo ago

Minister Backs Industrial Self-Generation as N.B. Confronts Rising Power Costs and Hospital Delays

Provincial officials have not provided updated costs or a completion date for Fredericton’s DECH expansion.

Players and coaches from the Lo-Ellen Park Lightning novice team pose for a photo to celebrate their gold-medal win at the 2025 Police Cup.
A major water main break flooded a large section of 16th Avenue in Montgomery and Bowness, stranding about 10 vehicles in the flood water, on Tuesday evening, Dec. 30, 2025.
Rick Bowness, seen here in his Winnipeg Jets coaching days, will be returning behind the bench in the NHL, this time with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
City of Calgary workers check over the freshly paved section of 16th Avenue N.W. at the Bearspaw South feeder main repair site on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.

Overview

  • NB Power has increased rates by about 23 percent over three years and plans a further 4.5 percent hike this spring, as Natural Resources Minister John Herron supports giving large users the option to self-generate and use NB Power’s transmission system.
  • Herron’s position follows requests from three companies and reflects pressure from industrial customers who point to lower electricity prices available in Quebec and British Columbia.
  • The $200-million project to expand the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital remains unfinished, and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has yet to disclose an updated budget or timeline.
  • Horizon Health Network says the new space will not resolve overcrowding driven by alternate-level-of-care patients, noting 121 people—about 35 percent of DECH’s acute beds—are medically discharged and awaiting placement.
  • Fredericton has opened a 30-day public consultation on zoning for the Doak Road southeast growth node that could accommodate up to 7,000 residents, and health groups are urging the province to dedicate future tobacco-settlement installments to prevention and public-health programs after the first $156 million went to the deficit.