Nova Scotia Two of Nova Scotia’s independent power utilities hope to make major investments in the coming years. The Town of Lunenburg says it must spend millions in upgrades to accept new development, while Riverport says it must restructure to survive. Fellow independent Riverport utility is facing similar crossroadsHaley Ryan · CBC News · Posted: Nov 13, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Mayor Jamie Myra says the Town of Lunenburg hopes to get funding help for millions of dollars in electrical upgrades. (Haley Ryan/CBC)Lunenburg council has decided to keep ownership of the town’s electrical utility, and invest millions of dollars in the coming years to expand grid capacity that allows for development.At the end of October, council for the Town of Lunenburg voted to keep the utility and move ahead with a five-year capital plan totalling about $18 million to $20 million.Mayor Jamie Myra said the upgrades will double the town’s current grid capacity, which is now at its limit, and handle renewable energy like wind and solar.“I think that the utility is a huge asset for the community,” Myra said in a recent interview.“The community can breathe a sigh of relief, and we know where our utility’s headed.”Lunenburg also recently invested about $3 million to increase electrical capacity in the west side of town, Myra said, to support two provincial projects: the new Harbour View Haven long-term care redevelopment, and health-care housing units at the former Wheelhouse Motel.The Wheelhouse, the first phase of the housing for health-care workers project, opened in Lunenburg on Aug. 18, 2025. (Province of Nova Scotia)The province is planning to build six more townhomes for health-care workers near the Wheelhouse site, with construction expected to start in summer 2026.Myra said the town is “100 per cent supportive” of the housing for health-care project, and is hopeful that construction for the next phase will start as planned now that council has a detailed plan forward.Amy Wagg, a spokesperson with the provincial Department of Growth and Development, said construction is still expected to begin in summer 2026.”Construction on these units will not begin until additional power is available for the site or it is confirmed it will be available when the units are ready for tenants to move in,” Wagg said in an email.Myra said Lunenburg will now look for help from the provincial and federal governments in funding the major upgrades.“If we don’t proceed in some fashion, we can talk all day about development all we want, but we really can’t expand,” Myra said.Lunenburg municipal staff said council could always decide to sell the utility in the future if they determine the costs are too much to handle, and the improvements will only make the asset more valuable.The nearby community of Riverport within the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg is facing a similar decision point.The Riverport Electric Light Commission is unique among the independent Nova Scotia utilities, because residents run the commission, while others are owned by municipalities. Riverport has a partnership with Mahone Bay where the two utilities share resources for regular operations and staffing.Commission chair David Maxwell said there has been recent upheaval, with three complete changes in the board in three years. The new board is working to update the commission’s financial statements, Maxwell said, which stopped in 2023. The utility is in debt, and the 100-year-old commission is limited by its guiding legislation from 1920, Maxwell said. “It has become abundantly apparent that we cannot continue in our present form. We have to change in some manner,” Maxwell said Monday.Crews with the Riverport Electric Light Commission work on power lines in this 2016 file photo. (Riverport Electric Light Commission/Facebook)Maxwell said the board is researching what model would work best and help bring the commission into the future, like becoming a co-operative.”We are still governed by the community and we report to the community, and we’re not trying to make any money. We’re not trying to make a profit at all,” Maxwell said.Riverport buys electricity from Nova Scotia Power, plus renewable energy from Alternative Resource Energy Authority’s (AREA) wind farm near Ellershouse, N.S. But, they must pay NSP to deliver that energy to the community at a “very significant expense,” Maxwell said. The utility will also need about $4 million in upgrades over the next five years to increase grid capacity and handle new homes with higher electricity needs, according to a recent financial update. However, that report expects half the cost could be covered by external sources.Maxwell said he personally believes Riverport’s commission can survive, “but I have to prove it.”“We are the last-standing man and we are struggling to define our place in the world and to define whether we can hold out against the general narrative,” Maxwell said.“Certainly, there are some elements in the community who very strongly want to maintain our independence.”The Riverport commission will hold a meeting in January 2026 about restructuring the organization.MORE TOP STORIES ABOUT THE AUTHORHaley Ryan is the municipal affairs reporter for CBC covering mainland Nova Scotia. Got a story idea? Send an email to haley.ryan@cbc.ca, or reach out on Twitter @hkryan17.
Lunenburg keeps electrical utility, plans to double grid capacity
