The Conservation Council of New Brunswick said the auditor general’s report shows NB Power rushed key decisions on the Tantramar project.
Climate researcher Moe Qureshi, the council’s director of climate research and policy, said the findings point to gaps in process, accountability and risk management.
He explained the report raised concerns about how NB Power advanced the project before completing key analysis.
“The major decisions were made before the supporting analysis was complete,” he said.
He said that included signing a 25‑year agreement before receiving approval from the Energy and Utilities Board.
Qureshi said the EUB deemed the project prudent but also found NB Power’s data was incomplete at the start of the hearing and that essential information was only provided midway through the process.
He said that raised questions about whether the utility followed its own governance framework for major capital projects.
He added that NB Power relied on older information when comparing the Tantramar project to alternatives, even though newer data shows cheaper options may be available.
Qureshi said the utility based its comparison on 2023 numbers instead of waiting for updated figures in its 2026 Integrated Resource Plan, expected this summer.
Qureshi pointed to falling battery prices and large‑scale storage projects underway in other provinces.
He said Ontario is procuring 3,000 megawatts of battery storage because it is proving cheaper and helps balance the grid.
“If we have new alternative data and new numbers showing the price of these technologies like batteries and their capabilities, let’s incorporate all that into our decision‑making process and then choose the best project,” he said.
He also raised environmental concerns, noting the plant would be built on the Chignecto Isthmus wildlife corridor and could become one of the province’s top emitters depending on how often it runs.
Qureshi said the project also lacks an Indigenous partnership, another issue highlighted in the Auditor General’s report.
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Qureshi said the findings suggest New Brunswick is “doubling down on the status quo” instead of using updated information to assess cheaper and lower‑emission alternatives.
He said the plant could add about five per cent to power bills when it becomes fully operational in 2029.
“There’s better stuff around us,” he said.
“By not following the governance framework and signing a 25‑year agreement before approval, we’re locking ourselves into a bad decision.”
