The Maritime Municipal Electric Utility Alliance has secured $505,000 in federal funding to improve the local power grid and plan for cleaner energy across nine community-owned utilities, including the Town of Antigonish.
The funding announcement was made on April 20, 2026, by Sean Fraser, the Member of Parliament for Central Nova. The federal government, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, is contributing a non-repayable grant of $420,750 toward the project. This is the first major coordinated investment for the Alliance since it was formed in February 2025.
The money will be used for long-term infrastructure planning, comparing how different utilities operate to find efficiencies, improving cybersecurity, and developing a business plan for electrification. These improvements are intended to help local utilities adapt to energy transitions while keeping electricity reliable for residents.
Randy Delorey, Vice-Chair of the Alliance and Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Antigonish, said the project will ensure that every utility in the group, no matter its size, has the tools needed to serve its community well into the future. Glen Fillmore, Chair of the Alliance, added that this collaboration allows smaller utilities to share expertise and build regional confidence as they modernize their systems.
The Alliance includes nine municipal utilities: Antigonish, Mahone Bay, Riverport, Berwick, and Lunenburg in Nova Scotia; Saint John Energy, Edmundston Energy, and the Perth-Andover Electric Light Commission in New Brunswick; and the City of Summerside in Prince Edward Island. Greg Gaudet, the Alliance’s Executive Secretary, noted that these modernization and planning efforts are community priorities that will provide benefits across the entire region.
