Susan Holt

NEW BRUNSWICK — It’s no cabinet crisis, but major energy issues are turning into a revealing stress test for Premier Susan Holt’s government. …On the energy front, Premier Susan Holt must contend with differing opinions among ministers. …Natural Resources Minister John Herron is openly pushing for changes to the Electricity Act to let J.D. Irving Ltd. exit the N.B. Power grid and cheaply generate its own renewable power, bypassing the utility’s industrial power rates. He says the change would protect forestry jobs, a sector he regulates. But Herron strays into Legacy’s turf when he points out the change may also avert the need for more gas plants. …The utility says letting large industrial customers exit its grid could put “upward pressure” on other ratepayers, who would be left to cover a greater share of the utility’s fixed costs. That could be be politically costly.