Power rates will climb in Nova Scotia, but not as much as the utility wanted

Residential power rates in Nova Scotia are going up, but not quite as much as the biggest utility in the province was hoping.

The provincial regulator has issued a lengthy decision on Nova Scotia Power’s proposed rate hikes that will require the utility to revise its plans in the coming weeks.

The privately owned utility was seeking a 3.8 per cent rate hike retroactive to Jan. 1, 2026, and another 4.1 per cent increase on Jan. 1, 2027.

The Nova Scotia Energy Board said Wednesday in a 300-page decision that it’s prohibiting Nova Scotia Power from proceeding with those changes.

The decision will prevent the utility from charging customers for millions of dollars worth of expenses. The regulator said this would also limit how much the utility could charge customers to cover the cost of compensation for the utility’s executives, along with some other areas of spending.

The regulator will also require the utility to reduce some of its spending by nearly $10 million.

The board says the adjustments will mean slightly lower rates than the Emera subsidiary was seeking, but it did not provide hard numbers.

“We’re committed to improving reliability and delivering service our customers can count on while keeping rates as low as possible — and we have concrete plans in place to meet these commitments,” Nova Scotia Power CEO Vivek Sood said in a statement.

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“As we’ve seen this winter, continued investments in the electricity grid are critical, both in terms of the reliability of our system during storms and the supply of electricity during extreme cold snaps.”

Sood said the decision would allow the utility to pursue those investments.

Nova Scotia Power is expected to use Wednesday’s ruling to recalculate the impact to customers within two weeks. After a period for stakeholder comments, the board would make a final rate decision in about a month.

In a statement, Premier Tim Houston said he respects the independence of the board, but strongly disagrees with its decision.

“It is out of touch in every way,” said the premier, who is also the provincial energy minister.

“I expected more from the board, particularly after such an extensive hearing where expert after expert presented clear evidence on why the board should exercise its authority and reject Nova Scotia Power’s request.

“At a minimum, they could have deferred the decision and required Nova Scotia Power to return with a more reasonable and fair proposal that reflects the reality Nova Scotians are living every day. They didn’t even do that.”

Houston said the decision shows the province needs more choice in utilities, and that’s why the government is pursuing onshore natural gas development.

The premier also cited Renewall Energy’s Mersey River Wind Project, which aims to sell power directly to consumers, as a meaningful step toward “breaking the Nova Scotia Power monopoly.” The 148-Megawatt project on the province’s South Shore recently landed a $206-million loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

NDP leader Claudia Chender slammed the premier for being absent while power rates are going up. Houston is attending an energy conference in Houston this week.

“(The board doesn’t) have the legal authority to disallow the recovery of costs to make life more affordable,” Chender told reporters at the legislature on Wednesday. “At difficult times like these, Nova Scotians need to be able to look to their government for leadership, for compassion and for support. The energy minister, our premier, needs to act immediately.”

Liberal leader Iain Rankin said the government has the ability to bring down power rates through legislation, including cutting Nova Scotia Power’s guaranteed profit, which is currently set at nine per cent. He called for a full independent review on other potential savings.

“The premier has lost control of power rate increases in the province,” said Rankin. “So while he’s down in Texas talking about oil and gas, presumably, we need him here to address this with Nova Scotians on why power rates have gone up by over 20 per cent in the last number of years, why the budget is out of control, and we’re not getting any answers from the energy minister on what he’s prepared to do.”