estimated nova scotia power bills running high for some customers
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some nova scotia power customers are still dealing with high estimated bills.
nova scotia power
social media is awash with nova scotia power customers voicing concerns over extremely high estimated bills.
one woman has received a $3,000 estimated bill from the utility for a unit that has been empty for months. she has been in a phone battle with customer service to get answers.
another woman received two higher-than-normal bills but said steps are being taken to correct them.
for many, the estimated bills are the fallout from the ransomware attack nova scotia power suffered on march 19.
and it’s not only customers looking for answers. the nova scotia energy board (nseb) is investigating the cybersecurity incident. in may, it opened a formal proceeding to investigate nova scotia power’s cybersecurity incident and ensure regulatory oversight and accountability. monthly updates were requested by the board.
nova scotia power says it has not been charging late fees since april or disconnecting customers for non-payment.
ryan taplin
/
the chronicle herald
in an october report to the nseb, nova scotia power stated measures were taken to safeguard continuity of service despite the change in customer experience.
“while meters have continued to accurately record electricity usage, the incident disrupted customer billing processes, online self-service functions, and meter data integration. in the immediate response, customers were supported through estimated billing supplemented by manual meter readings, while engagement was redirected to call centre channels where online options were limited,” read nova scotia power’s response.
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“recovery efforts have since stabilized core customer engagement channels, and contact centre operations are now fully functional. online account access and billing capabilities have been restored, while work has commenced to reinstate automated meter data integration.”
on its website, nova scotia power stated that estimates would be based on usage from the same time period last year and may not reflect changes made since then. but that’s not the experience for some of those saddled with the financial burden of paying excessively high estimated bills.
renee and tim smith of north sydney own three properties on the northside. they were shocked when they received their estimated power bills.
renee smith said they “gave in” last week and paid the $6,280 bill for two of the properties.
“we literally just spent thousands so they wouldn’t disconnect our power,” she said. “my husband said it was four times normal what it used to be.
“there is no possible way our bills are this high. especially since one of the units is brand new and has been empty for months. nobody is living there and they’re trying to say that one is over $3,000 for the last couple of months. it’s insanity.”
nova scotia power’s director of customer care, chris lanteigne, said customers will only pay for the power they use.
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“some customers have received an estimated bill because our meter readers haven’t been able to access the customer’s meter,” lanteigne said in an email. “however, the bill will be adjusted to reflect the actual usage once the meter is read and any difference will be reflected on the bill. we apologize for the frustration this has caused some of our customers.”
another side effect of the cybersecurity breach for smith has been the inability to access her online account.
“all of our stuff is online so i can’t even compare,” she said. “they have all acknowledged on every single phone call that there is a big group of people who can’t get on even if they tried to reset the password.
“i have never been expected to pay a bill we can’t see. just give me a copy of my bill. you can’t just tell me, ‘you no longer have access to go online’ and then say it’s ‘well, it’s because we were hacked and certain people can’t reset their passwords.’ when are they going to fix it.”
the smiths have finally been connected to a supervisor with nova scotia power to help.
nova scotia power says it can’t read its meters digitally right now because of the cyber attack in march, so contractors have been out on foot to record usage.
nova scotia power
lisa hushard of shelburne had a similar experience with estimated bills that were more than double what she paid last year. she received a bill of $505 in july and $518 in september. she went back to her bills from the same period in 2024 and discovered the estimated kilowatts were up by over 600 for each bill.
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“i was, like, what is going on here?” said hushard. “on the september bill, it went from 1,779 kilowatts for 64 days (in 2024) to 2,456 for 61 days (in 2025). there’s no way. it’s just me and my husband. so this isn’t adding up.”
hushard, who has sold car and life insurance and dealt with claims for 21 years, said she knows that you can’t get a resolution if you don’t make the call.
“i called nova scotia power and spoke with a lovely lady,” said hushard. “she had me take a picture of our meter . . . and email it to her. after we reviewed the estimated meter read and the actual meter read, it was off by a lot. so she is having this corrected and will have our bill adjusted accordingly.”
jackie foster, senior communications adviser for nova scotia power, said the company has not been charging late fees since april or disconnecting customers for non-payment.
“we have been encouraging customers to call us if they have questions about their estimated bill and we will work with them to find a solution to their unique situation. we will communicate with customers before reintroducing any late fees on unpaid amounts,” foster wrote in an email.
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