Irving Paper to Temporarily Reduce Operations at Its Saint John, NB, Facility

On Monday, Irving Paper announced it would once again be shutting down 50% of its operations in Saint John, New Brunswick, beginning December 2nd and lasting for at least a week. The move is in response to NB Power’s record high industrial electricity rates.

In a statement prepared to accompany the announcement, Mark Mosher, Vice President of J.D. Irving Ltd., Pulp & Paper, said:

“NB Power’s continued delays at the Point Lepreau generating station have resulted in electricity rates being over 100% higher than historic levels. No business can absorb price increases of that level without negative impacts. Irving Paper has shut down or reduced its operations over 30 days so far in 2024, with more expected.

We have invested significantly into alternate energy sources and making our facilities as energy efficient as possible in an effort to offset the province’s high electricity costs. Without clear policy to address these bigger structural competitive issues, NB’s industrial base will continue to contract.”

Irving Paper manufactures 400,000 tons of paper annually, over 95% of which is exported to 65 countries. Current electricity rates have a massive impact on Irving Paper’s ability to compete, the company said. Due to the nature of the pulping process, electricity usage is intensive and unavoidable. Irving Paper has historically been the provincial utility’s biggest customer with annual costs in the range of C$60 million. Projections see that increase to well over C$80 million in 2024 and C$100 million in 2025, with significant downtime built in to avoid a much higher bill.