FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2026
Green Party tabling bill to lower electricity rates for Islanders
Charlottetown, PE – Today Peter Bevan-Baker, Green Party Critic for Energy, announced he will be tabling a bill in the legislature that will help lower electricity rates for Islanders and hold Maritime Electric accountable for its rate increases and performance standards.
“Our province is at an energy crossroads where we must choose to either make electricity rates affordable for Islanders and hold Maritime Electric accountable or we continue down the PC government’s current path to download energy costs onto Islanders,” said Bevan-Baker. “We absolutely can and must build a clean, reliable and affordable energy future for our province and this bill is an important step.”
The bill, which amends the Electric Power Act, holds Maritime Electric accountable for service quality and reliability. It would create a performance-based regulatory framework, mandate industry-standard targets and benchmarks related to interruptions of electricity provided to Islanders, and would require that cheaper alternatives be considered before major investments are made by the electric utility. Furthermore, the bill would introduce a service performance incentive scheme that would incentivize reliability and would penalize the utility for reasonably avoidable interruptions.
“I hear regularly from Islanders who are struggling to pay their electricity bills,” said Matt MacFarlane, Leader of the Green Party of PEI. “Despite repeated promises from Premier Lantz to make lowering energy rates his number one priority, we’ve seen little action from him and his government. Our Green caucus has done the work and is ready to advocate for Islanders.”
The consultation draft of the bill is now available for public review and feedback. Islanders can share their feedback by emailing greencaucus@assembly.pe.ca.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Katie Rankin
Chief of Staff
Office of the Third Party
Tel: (902) 213-6378
Email: kerankin@assembly.pe.ca