The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) held public hearings from August 25 to August 28 on Maritime Electric's proposal to install two 50-megawatt diesel combustion turbines on the Charlottetown waterfront.
In the lead-up to the hearing, IRAC received nearly 50 comments from concerned Island residents, which helped shape questions posed to the applicant and experts.
Energy Democracy Now! presented to the commission as a Friend of the Commission interveners on August 27. As interveners, we are among the few voices for island residents and ratepayers in this proceeding.
We used the allocated hour to argue that the need for additional energy capacity in PEI does not justify a hasty purchase of combustion turbines. Energy storage technology, demand management, and increased use of renewable technologies all deserve to be fully tested before committing hundreds of millions of dollars in a fifty-year investment. IRAC's expert witness, Mr. Robert Fagan from Synapse Energy Economics, and MLA Peter Bevan Baker argued many of the same concerns.
We heard two days of testimony from engineers with real concerns about PEI's energy capacity shortfalls and the various considerations involved in responsible energy planning and emergency preparation. We learned a lot during the proceedings, but we were also left with new questions.
We are left without answers about analyses that haven't been completed; whether Maritime Electric has any fossil fuel phase-out plan at all; why they want to purchase these units from an American company without an open bidding process; and why Maritime Electric waited until the end of 2024 to begin an application in an energy landscape that had already been evolving for years.
We are also concerned that Maritime Electric's counsel attempted to exclude submissions by the Commission's expert, Mr. Fagan, from the record, and spent considerable time interrogating Mr. Fagan’s expertise. The Commission must ask: Is this the behaviour of a party truly dedicated to implementing the best and least-cost option?
After listening to experts from all parties, two things are clear. One, there is a real need for additional on-island generating capacity. Two, the public has not been presented with sufficient evidence that fifty years of burning fossil fuel is, by any metric, the best option to achieve that capacity.
IRAC will deliver a decision on this file later this year.
Our full presentation is available on our website.
