25-04-2025
No link between NB Power smart meters and higher utility bills: review
A highly anticipated review of NB Power smart meters is reporting no link between the devices and higher utility bills.
Results from the review, conducted by KPMG, were released Friday afternoon at NB Power's headquarters in Fredericton.
In its report, KPMG said there were no power consumption increases for customers who changed to a smart meter from December 2023 to December 2024 that can be attributed to the meters.
The KPMG review said the cause of higher-than-expected bills in December 2024 were due to:
increased power prices
higher power consumption levels due to cold weather temperatures
longer billing periods
fewer power outages compared to December 2023
NB Power gave the same explanation for higher power bills to customers before the provincial government ordered the review in January.
The review was prompted by customer outrage over power bills, which in some cases were double or more compared to the previous year.
According to the KPMG review released Friday, a random test of 400 meters (181 conventional meters and 219 smart meters) found none were overstating residential power use. A review of 40 additional meters – selected by NB Power in February – also found no discrepancies, according to the utility.
KPMG said it tested 100 residential meters, where utility bills increased more than 30 per cent, and found no signs of overstated power use connected to the meters. KPMG said all the meters tested met the Measurement Canada dispute guidelines of three per cent accuracy.
NB Power update on smart meters
NB Power President and CEO Lori Clark and NB Power Vice-president of Operations Nicole Poirier speak to reporters in Fredericton on April 25, 2025. (Nick Moore/CTV Atlantic)
'We do know that the results from this review will not make it any easier for some of those customers who are struggling to pay their bills,' Lori Clark, president and CEO of NB Power, told reporters on Friday.
'It was very important for us to have an independent third-party review to have that validation from third parties, whether it be Environment Canada, Measurement Canada, KPMG, those groups, to validate the information that customers had on their bill, the billing process, as well that the meters are working properly.
'New Brunswickers should rest comfortably knowing that the audit was done by an independent group and also that in other jurisdictions, whether it's Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, or P.E.I., similar results were found when their reviews were done in those provinces as well.'
In a statement, Energy Minister René Legacy said he had given 'a cursory look at the report and its findings, which should help to give New Brunswickers a level of confidence that the equipment and billing processes that NB Power is using is trustworthy.'
Legacy said he'd be looking at the report more fully in the days to come.
Green Party Leader David Coon said the review was disappointing because the explanations for higher utility bills still remained unclear.
'There are still a sizeable number of consumers, NB Power customers, who have unexplained, significant increases in their power consumption that gave them extremely high power bills,' said Coon. 'And they didn't answer that question.'
NB Power says the rollout of smart meters to all residential dwellings should be finished by the end of 2025, totalling 375,000 devices across the province.
A full copy of the KPMG report can be found online.
More to come...
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