Nova ScotiaThe CEO of Nova Scotia Power was questioned Friday by a Digby municipal councillor about the human impact of not paying contractors. Rick Foote told Peter Gregg about a small contractor in his area facing difficulties while he’s waiting to be paid by the utility.Company says spring cybersecurity breach affected payments to contractors doing work for them Anjuli Patil · CBC News · Posted: Nov 09, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Rick Foote, a town councillor in Digby, spoke up for a contractor from his area. (CBC)Rick Foote, a municipal councillor for the Town of Digby, has spoken up for a small contractor he says is awaiting payment from Nova Scotia Power.The CEO of Nova Scotia Power, Peter Gregg, took questions at the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities conference on Friday in Halifax.Foote asked him when a contractor in his area would get paid.”It’s really putting financial stress on him,” Foote told Gregg. “He could go out of business because Nova Scotia Power owes him money and he has no idea when he’s going to get paid.”And when he goes to his bank to try and get money, he’s already run up his credit pretty significantly and we can’t afford to lose him.”Nova Scotia Power had a cybersecurity breach in the spring and it affected payments to companies it hires to do work for them.In his response to Foote, Gregg apologized and said Nova Scotia Power has had “some issues trying to keep up with the backlog” because of the cyber breach. He said the company has been in touch with suppliers and is working to get payments out soon.”We’re making really good progress now on that,” Gregg said. “So we’re getting those payments out the door and expect that backlog to be cleared up in the very near future. I know it’s been a frustration … we’ve been triaging as much as we can and want to make sure we support these vendors who are really important to us. We know they’re important to your communities as well.”Nova Scotia Power’s CEO, Peter Gregg, is shown in Halifax on Friday. (CBC)The contractor Foote spoke about declined an interview with CBC News and asked that his business not be named.Speaking to CBC News after the interaction, Foote said he would like to see Nova Scotia Power communicate with small contractors and give them a letter that can be shared with banks and money lenders to help with credit. Foote said Gregg’s response “was the best answer he could give me without committing to something.”MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORAnjuli Patil is a reporter with CBC Nova Scotia’s digital team.With files from Haley Ryan
Digby councillor confronts Nova Scotia Power CEO on late payment to contractor
