daily · Grid & Utilities

Canada backs New Brunswick grid work with C$219 million loan and C$50 million project funding

The October 13 package funds Mactaquac development work and a Salisbury grid-stability project. The 672 MW hydro station is an existing asset, and a site-development loan is not a completed rehabilitation.

By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published October 13, 2026 · Updated 10/13/2026

Natural Resources Canada announced nearly C$270 million in support for New Brunswick electricity projects on October 13, 2026. The package combines a C$219 million Canada Infrastructure Bank site-development loan to NB Power with C$50 million from Natural Resources Canada for a separate grid project. A loan and project funding are different forms of support.

The site-development loan supports the Mactaquac Life Achievement Project, including technical studies, regulatory reviews, First Nations engagement and planning. It is not described as the complete construction cost of rehabilitation or a grant for every dollar of work.

The government describes Mactaquac as a 672-megawatt run-of-river generating station and NB Power's largest hydroelectric facility. That figure is the capacity of an existing asset, not 672 MW of new capacity commissioned by this announcement. The release says premature concrete deterioration has affected critical equipment, including turbines and spillway gates.

NB Power's phased rehabilitation program aims to extend the station to a 100-year lifespan. The announcement describes development activities that will help the utility and province determine next steps, not a declaration that the rehabilitation is finished.

The separate C$50 million supports a Static Synchronous Compensator, or STATCOM, at the Salisbury Terminal. Natural Resources Canada says the high-voltage substation project is intended to improve stability and reliability in southern New Brunswick and support additional renewable resources as demand grows.

Limits: the release links these projects to energy security and affordability goals but does not establish a measured household bill reduction or new operating capacity from the funded work. The amounts are Canadian dollars. Project planning, financing, rehabilitation and eventual grid performance should be tracked as separate stages.

Official source: canada.ca ↗