The Saint John Electric Light Company first produced
electricity for sale in
New Brunswick in 1884. In the 1800s, electricity was used to run electric
trolleys for
public transportation, to operate
sugar refineries and
iron foundries, to fuel the growth of the emerging
railway industry and provide
light and
power to other businesses,
skating rinks and some homes.
By
World War I, about 20 organizations were producing power in New Brunswick. In 1920, the government set up the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission.
The Great Depression slowed the pace of development, but NB Power continued to expand.
World War II brought
military training bases to the
province and NB Power supplied them with electricity and distribution systems. The next big step was the post-war Rural Electrification Program to bring electricity to the
farms and small
communities in the province.
The energy
crisis in the 1970s led to a new push for
conservation. NB Power started to plan more multi-fuel facilities and a
nuclear generating station. Through the 1980s and 1990s, NB Power added a CANDU
reactor at Point Lepreau to its generating mix and continued to improve the
technical and
environmental performance of its generating and distribution
system.
NB Power now delivers electricity directly to over 316,000 customers and has a capacity of 4116 megawatts at sixteen generating stations.