New Brunswick pulp mills forced to make changes in face of rising NB Power bills

By John Chilibeck
The Telegraph-Journal
January 27, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

AV Group Canada, which runs pulps mills in Nackawic, just west of Fredericton, and in Atholville near Campbellton in the province’s north, warns that NB Power’s rates are making it uncompetitive against other firms around the world. Irving Paper says it will reduce operations at its Saint John mill again by half, to deal with the high electricity cost, for an undetermined period. “The current situation regarding escalating power costs… has serious consequences for our facilities,” said Mike Legere, for AV Group Canada. The company employs 1,200, making it the dominant player in both small towns. Energy makes up one-quarter of AV’s input costs at its pulp mills, second only to wood fibre, he said. …And Irving Paper said it welcomed the third-party audit. Since last April, when rates went up, it has warned that New Brunswick’s industrial rates are having a negative impact on the provincial economy. 

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