Rate riders are common in the energy sector but new for our province. They are credits or charges to electricity users based on the difference between a utility’s budget and actual financial results.

This means if a utility performs better than its budget for energy costs by a minimum threshold, the rate rider will be a credit. Conversely, the rate rider can be a charge if energy costs exceed budget.

In New Brunswick, a rate rider is calculated based on NB Power’s energy costs versus its budget in accordance with the Electricity Act under regulation 2022-17: Regulatory Variance Accounts and Deferral Account Regulation.

Rate riders are calculated annually and applied to bills from April 1 to March 31.

Because most of the electricity Saint John Energy customers use comes from NB Power, rate riders apply to Saint John Energy customers.

From April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, the rate rider for Saint John Energy customers is $0.0009 per kWh of energy used.

It is likely rate riders will be applied in future years but we can’t predict what they will be.

The rate rider for Saint John Energy customers for 2023-24 is a credit of $0.0009/kWh on all kWh purchased. For example, a residential customer who uses 1,350 kWh of electricity a month will receive a credit of $1.22 a month.

The rate rider is assessed before taxes. Starting with your April 2023 bill, you will see a line labelled NB Power Rate Rider Charge (Credit).

Customer account charges where energy consumed but not metered will be credited or charged based on the allocated kWh usage of the asset. Customers on unmetered charges U01 and U02 will be assessed a rate rider based on the name-plate energy use of the connected assets.

Our calculations are designed to pass on to our customers the rate rider credits or charges that apply to our electricity purchases from NB Power in any given year.

Rate riders do not apply to electricity we purchase elsewhere, such as the Burchill wind farm.

The rate rider for Saint John Energy customers for 2023-24 is a credit of $0.0009/kWh on all kWh purchased. For example, a residential customer who uses 1,350 kWh of electricity a month will receive a credit of $1.22 a month.

The rate rider is assessed before taxes. Starting with your April 2023 bill, you will see a line labelled NB Power Rate Rider Charge (Credit).

Click here for a table that shows the 2023-24 rate rider credit based on different consumption levels

Details about rate riders are prescribed in provincial regulation, specifically the Regulatory Variance Accounts and Deferral Account Regulation of the Electricity Act.

Our customer service team can be reached at (506) 658-5252.