An accusation that two or additional prospects of NB Power’s transmission system slipped proper right into a listening to on the utility’s transmission fees in a Trojan Horse-style operation has ground proceedings on the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board to a sudden halt.
NB Power is asking {{that a}} advertising advisor being paid to indicate the unknown occasions be expelled by the EUB and his proof disallowed.
NB Power lawyer John Furey acknowledged the utility has believed since late remaining yr that the advertising advisor, William Marshall, had been representing solely himself on the listening to nonetheless is now questioning if he is half of an even bigger “collusion” amongst totally different contributors.
“It not at all crossed my ideas that Mr. Marshall was proper right here except for as a member of most people who’s throughout the proceedings,” Furey acknowledged all through the digital listening to remaining week. “That he was actually representing an unnamed third event, I uncover that — I am shocked by it, frankly.
“It creates the prospect that there are totally different interveners on this persevering with who’ve moreover retained Mr. Marshall, and we now have collusion or corroboration via Mr. Marshall of the place that one different intervener is taking to create the impression for the Board that there is consensus. It is fully unfair.”
The listening to, which was postponed earlier throughout the spring for unrelated causes was lastly scheduled to conclude remaining Friday nonetheless has now been adjourned until Aug. 10 to take heed to arguments on how one can deal with NB Power’s issues about cloaked contributors.
Final arguments on transmission fees themselves, which had been initially presupposed to be in place once more on April 1, have been delayed until Sept. 9.
NB Power’s in depth transmission system serves various firms and mills that rely on it to maneuver electrical power in and throughout the Maritime provinces, Maine, Quebec and deeper into New England.
The operation of the system, along with its fees and payments, is regulated by the New Brunswick Energy and Utilites Board.
Numerous occasions, along with Marshall, are collaborating throughout the listening to and have been tough NB Power plans to carry fees for its transmission firms. One considerably controversial proposal is a plan to larger than quadruple what NB Power costs to “steadiness” the uneven motion {of electrical} power via its system introduced on by the up and down manufacturing of area wind farms.
Marshall is a former senior NB Power govt and as quickly as oversaw the operation of the transmission system as president of the neutral New Brunswick System Operator, which was absorbed by NB Power quite a lot of years prior to now. He has operated a private consulting enterprise for the ultimate 14 years.
Marshall’s consulting agency WKM Energy Consultants Inc. registered to participate throughout the listening to by itself behalf.
Nevertheless beneath questioning remaining week by showing public intervener Rick Williams, Marshall confirmed the company is being paid by “a number of” silent event to indicate them.
Beneath additional questioning by Furey, Marshall acknowledged the occasions did not want their participation to be recognized.
“The patrons that I am [representing] really did not want to be acknowledged by themselves that that they had been proper right here, so I am doing it on their behalf,” Marshall acknowledged.
“The precedence of my shopper is that, , quite a lot of of them have relationships with NB Power, they normally don’t want to tarnish these relationships.”
Marshall acknowledged it was explicitly in his distinctive utility to participate throughout the matter that his agency had an curiosity in collaborating on account of it “works generally with many occasions all via the realm” who’re affected by NB Power’s transmission insurance coverage insurance policies and costs.
He equipped to disclose the identities of people who employed him in confidence to the EUB, nonetheless Furey took the place the occasions who employed Marshall must be the listed contributors even when Marshall is the one who presents their arguments.
“It isn’t throughout the public curiosity to permit Interveners to indicate the pursuits of undisclosed or unidentified third-party industrial pursuits,” Furey wrote in a correct uncover of motion calling for Marshall to be expelled and proof he has submitted to be struck.
“The one doable goal of such a kind of intervention is secrecy, which is reverse to the “open courtroom docket” principle which governs Canadian courts and tribunals,” he concluded.
Beneath questioning, Marshall listed eight consumers of his consulting agency that is likely to be impacted by a change in transmission costs in New Brunswick and really useful “some” of those eight had been these he was representing.
Among the many many eight are Saint John Energy, which takes electrical power off NB Power’s transmission system to provide metropolis prospects, and Liberty Utilities, which owns the Tinker hydroelectric dam that hyperlinks to NB Power’s transmission system near the Maine and New Brunswick border.
Marshall did not say if each agency is among the many many ones he is working for, nonetheless every are represented individually on the listening to already, and Furey acknowledged there is a hazard a secret participant cherished “double illustration” all via the listening to and possibly benefited from unfair procedural suggestions.
“One doable remaining result’s that one advisor of the third-party curiosity can be capable of cross-examine (and thus ask major questions of) an educated retained by the second advisor of the third-party curiosity,” wrote Furey in his formal uncover of motion.
“Double illustration also can finish end result throughout the stacking of quite a lot of educated witnesses, making a misunderstanding for the board that there is consensus that does not actually exist.”
On Monday, Saint John Energy would not contact upon whether or not or not it’s probably one of many occasions paying Marshall.
“There could also be in the intervening time a motion in with the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board on this case,” agency spokesperson Jessica DeLong wrote in an e-mail..
“We can’t be commenting in the intervening time out of respect for the NBEUB’s course of.”
The EUB acknowledged if a call between NB Power and Marshall is likely to be labored out, Aug. 10 is also used to take heed to the final word arguments. In every other case the day shall be devoted to listening to the utility’s utility to have Marshall barred from collaborating.