NB Power admits ‘risk’ of delayed long-term IT system upgrade

The energy board held a hearing into NB Power's request for a rate hike.

NB Power is in the early stages of implementing a major software upgrade across the entire crown corporation, which has proven problematic for other organizations and governments.

The utility’s Enterprise Resource Planning project – or ERP – has been mentioned several times this week at public hearings considering NB Power’s request for a 4.75 per cent rate increase in 2026-27.

Sue Moore, NB Power’s executive director of strategic planning and transformation, said the utility had delayed the major project for years in an attempt to save money, but that it could no longer be put off.

“We must execute this ERP,” said Moore at the Energy and Utilities Board hearing on Wednesday. “It is foundational to us running our business.”

“There is no ‘do nothing’ option with this ERP. Our technology is 30 plus years old and has reached the end of its life, so it does need to be repaired. It’s not an initiative where there needs to be a traditional net-benefit as a result of that. Now, not withstanding, we do anticipate and have identified through the early phases where we do believe there will be cost efficiencies and productivity efficiencies. Those will be recorded as part of our status updates and in our continuity schedule.”

NB Power did not provide a total budget or timeline for the long-term project.

The utility’s annual report said the ERP deferral account carried a balance of $1 million at the end of March 2025. The utility said during the 2024-25 fiscal year, an additional $1 million was added, reflecting eligible expenditures that had incurred as part of the project.

The New Brunswick government is carrying out its own process of a systemwide software upgrade, which includes school districts. The project began in 2020, during the early days of the pandemic.

Last month, New Brunswick’s department of finance confirmed the system’s full implementation would be delayed by two years and cost about $200 million more than initially estimated.

Moore said NB Power was aware of how such a project carried unexpected issues.

“We do know it is a project that many companies undertake and does have the risk of delays and cost overruns,” said Moore. “We are taking additional steps to ensure we are doing everything we can to make that plan actionable.”

NB Power said it hired Deloitte to incorporate security enhancements into the early stages of its ERP plan, and that all the technical upgrades required for the project had been completed.

The systemwide software upgrade was mentioned at Wednesday’s hearing as a possible remedy for financial forecasts from the utility which often aren’t accurate.

Between 2021 and 2026, NB Power spent $164.4 million more than approved by the utility’s board on its operating, maintenance, and administrative budget.

Diane Fraser, NB Power’s director of financial planning, said the ERP upgrade would allow for “systems that talk to each other,” with data “more real time aligned, and more transparent.”

“I expect we’ll be budgeting quite differently with the ERP system upgrade,” she said.

The public hearings continue Thursday.

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