FREDERICTON -- People in New Brunswick will see their power rates go up starting Saturday.

The province announced Thursday that the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board approved an average 1.77 per cent rate increase for all customer classes.

But, residential NB Power customers will see a hike of 2.07 per cent.

The utility says the increase will pay down its debt, while supporting outage prevention.

NB Power's chief financial officer, Darren Murphy, says the hike will also help prepare for large capital projects, like the life extension of the Mactaquac generating station.

The decision follows five days of public hearings last month.