Utilities will seek plantÂ’s development cost
BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA - North Dakota regulators say that although a proposed power plant has been canceled, utilities will be asking ratepayers to foot the bill for development costs.
Otter Tail Power Co. and Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. were partners in the Big Stone II project in northeastern South Dakota. It was scrapped because it couldn't find enough investors. It cost more than $10 million to develop.
North Dakota Public Service Commission Chairman Kevin Cramer says MDU and Otter Tail are likely to ask for future electric rate increases to get their money back.
North Dakota regulators have already ruled the project was a good way to meet future electric demand. Commissioner Tony Clark says that will help the two utilities get their money.
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Manitoba Hydro's burgeoning debt surpasses $19 billion
WINNIPEG - Manitoba Hydro's debt load now exceeds $19 billion as the provincial Crown corporation grapples with a shrinking net income amid ongoing efforts to slay costs.
The utility's annual report, to be released publicly on Tuesday, also shows its total consolidated net income slumped from $71 million in 2016-2017 to $37 million in the last fiscal year.
It said efforts to restructure the utility and reduce costs are partly to blame for the $34 million drop in year-over-year income.
These earnings come nowhere close, however, to alleviating Hydro's long-term debt problem. The figure is pegged at $19.2 billion this fiscal year, up…
