Nova ScotiaThe head of Nova Scotia Power says he thinks the utility has a strong case for higher rates for each of the next two years despite criticism about unaffordability.Peter Gregg says utility is balancing reliability, affordabilityTaryn Grant · CBC News · Posted: Nov 10, 2025 1:09 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Peter Gregg, CEO of Nova Scotia Power, speaks to reporters at Province House in this file photo. Gregg says the strength of the general rate application is that it’s based on consensus from customer representatives. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)The head of Nova Scotia Power says he thinks the utility has a strong case for increased rates for each of the next two years despite criticism about unaffordability.Peter Gregg, the utility’s CEO, made the comments in response to questions from financial analysts during a recent teleconference about Emera, Nova Scotia Power’s parent company.The highly criticized proposal includes a rate hike for residential customers of about 4.1 per cent for the next two years.“Obviously, affordability is on a lot of people’s minds,” Gregg said. “I think we found the path to balancing reliability and affordability through this rate case.”Gregg said the strength of the proposal comes from the fact that it was a consensus filing, endorsed by representatives from every customer class. Nova Scotia Power has said it spent nearly six months in discussions with the parties to arrive at a proposal they all supported.Nova Scotia Power’s general rate application will be heard by the regulator in January. (Mark Crosby/CBC)Nevertheless, the Nova Scotia Energy Board will still get the final say. The proposal is set to go before the board in a public hearing in January. Premier Tim Houston blasted the proposal when Nova Scotia Power made it public in September, calling the utility “out of touch.”Nova Scotia Power last made a general rate application in 2022.At the time, the province tried to block it by legislating a rate, spending and profit cap on the utility, but the legislation did not have the desired outcome. The board approved the rate application anyway, and the utility was hit with credit downgrades from two agencies.During the teleconference, one analyst noted the premier’s opposition to the current proposal and asked Emera leadership what Nova Scotia Power could do “to avoid the outcome that we saw in 2022.”“We do have a productive relationship with officials inside the government and we continue those discussions,” Gregg responded. The utility has said the rate increases will help pay for $1.3 billion in maintenance and improvements to the electricity grid, while continuing to hit the publicly traded company’s target profit margin.Meanwhile, the utility is also still grappling with the after-effects of a cybersecurity breach that was announced publicly in April. Thieves took personal information belonging to hundreds of thousands of Nova Scotia Power customers, and many of the utility’s systems were disrupted.One disruption was to Nova Scotia Power’s financial technology, leading to delays in paying some vendors and suppliers. The utility is now months behind on some bills.Last week the energy board directed the utility to settle any outstanding dues “as soon as possible,” and to provide a detailed report of where things stand in January. The board also said it’s referring the issue to a third-party data firm to further investigate. MORE TOP STORIES ABOUT THE AUTHORTaryn Grant covers daily news for CBC Nova Scotia, with a particular interest in housing and homelessness, education, and health care. You can email her with tips and feedback at taryn.grant@cbc.ca
Nova Scotia Power CEO defends proposed rate hike
