Today, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro (Hydro) released its annual Business and Financial Report, including the Annual Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2021. Hydro also released its Unaudited Financial Statements and financial results for the first quarter of 2022.

“Over this past year, Hydro has undergone significant change. In June 2021, we emerged with a new organizational structure, one designed to better meet the expectations of the people of the province. While this change affected every part of the company, it did not change our core purpose – we remain proud to be Newfoundland and Labrador’s Crown utility. Our company and our people are on a journey to ensure we are not only responsive and accountable to the people of the province but also to ensure we are adapting to our rapidly changing energy industry. As the world looks for ways to advance and transition to renewable energy sources, Newfoundland and Labrador is the envy of our peers. We assure you that we will evolve our organization thoughtfully, adapting to the changes before us while relying upon sound, utility practice in our decision making.”

– Jennifer Williams, President and CEO, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro

Newfoundland and Labrador is today served with over 80 per cent renewable energy sources, heading to a 98 per cent renewable energy grid, with efforts focused on the remaining two per cent. In 2021, Hydro made significant progress supporting initiatives to transition to more renewable energy sources. Hydro provided input to the Provincial Government’s Renewable Energy Plan, Maximizing our Renewable Future, and over the coming years we look forward to playing a key role in advancing a number of critical initiatives described within the plan. And in 2021, Hydro completed construction on the first fast-charging network in our province, and announced new incentives toward the purchase of electric vehicles. In 2021, users charged more than 45 MWh equaling 240,000 km – enough to drive from St. John’s to Vancouver more than 33 times.

Newfoundland and Labrador is also a desired location for new energy related projects. In 2021, Hydro advanced a Network Additions Policy which will enable significant customer growth in Labrador resulting from increased economic activity in mining, and industry’s move to utilize greener energy solutions. This presents Hydro, and the Province with substantial opportunity and challenge, as we must ensure we thoughtfully plan for the future utilization of our energy resources.

In late 2021, the Muskrat Falls Generating Station and the Labrador Transmission Assets were completed and all four generating units at Muskrat Falls have now been transferred to the Newfoundland and Labrador System Operator (NLSO) for service as part of our province’s energy grid.

While we acknowledged this integration of a new important facility, Hydro also celebrated 50 years of safe, reliable electricity at Churchill Falls. Power first flowed 50 years ago in 1972, across the 735 kV transmission lines over 1,200 km to Montreal and has been flowing every day since then, to our own customers and to millions of homes across North America.

At Hydro, safety is our number one goal and is the foundation of everything we do. We want each and every one of our people to go home safely at the end of each and every the day, and our efforts to improve safety in the workplace are never done. Hydro has charted an impressive safety journey over the past ten years, and in 2021, the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) acknowledged our efforts with a CEA President’s Award of Excellence for Employee Safety in Generation in Group 2 for the third consecutive year.

Hydro’s employees are proud to operate in every corner of this province, and are equally proud to give back to communities. Actively supporting organizations in the communities where we operate and where our employees live is one of our priorities. In 2021, we focused on supporting partnerships in STEM education and youth leadership, safety and mental health, child and youth health and safety, environment and sustainability, diversity and inclusion and social and community well-being.

2021 Financial Highlights:
• Hydro recorded a profit for the year ended December 31, 2021 of $72 million compared to a loss of $90 million in 2020, an increase of $162 million. The key driver of the increase relates to the non-cash impairment of oil and gas assets recorded in Q1 2020. Also contributing to the increase is the commissioning of the Muskrat Falls assets in 2021 and associated regulatory deferrals, higher realized oil and electricity export prices, and a settlement with Hydro-Québec in relation to the Declaratory Judgment case. These increases were partially offset by the impact of HSE First Redetermination.

First Quarter Financial Highlights for 2022
• Hydro recorded a profit for the three months ended March 31, 2022 of $100 million compared to a loss of $57 million for the same period in 2021, an increase of $157 million. The key drivers of the increased profit for the quarter relate to the commissioning of the Muskrat Falls assets in Q4 2021 and associated regulatory deferrals, a decrease in the impact of HSE First Redetermination in 2022 and an increase in realized oil price.

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Media Contact:
Deanne Fisher
Director, Public Affairs and Customer Service, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro
t. 709.733.5299 | c. 709.697.3418 | e. DeanneFisher@nlh.nl.ca