$138M in electricity rebates start mailing out Feb. 15

Newfoundland Power and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro says they will start mailing out Rate Stabilization Plan (RSP) refunds on Feb. 15.

Customers of both utilities who have used, and paid for, electricity between Jan. 1, 2007, and Aug. 31, 2013, are eligible for the refund.

Around 200,000 current customers will get their payments first, making up about 85 per cent of the total RSP balance.

Following that, customers who had accounts in the past within the refund period will get their money.

Anyone expecting a big cheque from the utilities will be disappointed. Instead of sending out cheques, customers will get their refund amount applied against their power bills until the refund is exhausted.

The total surplus to be refunded is $138 million, including interest. Of that, $129 million will go to Newfoundland Power's customers, while around $9 million is for NL Hydro customers.

The amount paid to each customer will vary, depending on their usage.

Newfoundland Power customers can see if they qualified for a refund, and how much they will receive, on the utility's webpage by logging into their account.

Hydro is updating its site to offer a similar service to its customers.

Customers in Labrador will not receive a refund because they did not pay into the Rate Stabilization Plan.

The pot of money began building up after the newsprint mill in Grand-Falls Windsor closed, lowering the demand for power on the island, and in turn reducing the amount of oil being used to fuel the Holyrood generating station.