Nova Scotia Power has lost its bid to suppress portions of an audit that criticized its fuel purchasing.

On Wednesday the Province's Utility and Review Board said it was in the public interest to release a full copy of an audit by the Liberty Consulting Group.

"In the view of the Board, public disclosure outweighs private confidentiality," the Board ruled Wednesday.

The audit was carried out for the regulator and concluded Nova Scotia electricity ratepayers are owed close to $22 million because poor fuel purchasing by the utility over a two year period.

Nova Scotia Power said the audit's claims are false and defamatory. It wanted 150 separate items in the audit kept secret until after a hearing on fuel purchases later this year.

But "in the board's view granting NSPI's request would set a troubling precedent as the board fully expects that NSPI would attempt to use it to shield future criticisms from public view," ruled the Utility and Review Board.

"While there is a clear public interest in preserving some of the commercial information so as to permit NSPI to obtain fuel at competitive prices, that imperative does not exist with respect to criticism an auditor might direct against NSPI."

In their decision, members Peter Gurnham, Roland Deveau and Kulvinder Dhillon, pointed out that Nova Scotia Power has filed numerous consultants reports of its own rebutting the Liberty findings.

The provincial Progressive Conservative Party challenged the redaction of the original audit and forced the issue.

"For once, Nova Scotia Power is being held accountable to the people who pay the bills," said party leader Jamie Baillie.

Liberty Consulting has been ordered to provide an unredacted version of its audit "as soon as conveniently possible."