Nova Scotia Power working to restore connection to smart meters amid estimate concerns

CITYnews halifax / By Mark Hodgins

Nova Scotia’s electrical utility says it understands concerns about estimated bills as it continues to recover from a cybersecurity breach.

Chris Lanteigne, the director of customer care for Nova Scotia Power, says the breach impacted the utility’s ability to get readings directly from the smart meters attached to homes. In June, the utility started issuing estimated bills based on an average of previous usage, angering some residents who said they received inflated bills.

“Our meters continue to accurately record the energy that is consumed; however, our ability to get that information has been impacted,” Lanteigne told The Todd Veinotte Show. “We’ve been working to restore the connection that we have with meters so we’ll be able to read all customers’ bills again, and we hope to have that work completed by early 2026.”

Lanteigne says Nova Scotia Power has been working diligently, and he expects that connection to be restored in the first quarter of the new year.

In the meantime, the utility has been hiring people to physically go to homes to get usage readings. Lanteigne says about three-quarters of homes have been read, but estimates are still being used for those that have not.

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“We are not charging late fees for any customer that doesn’t pay their bill, no interest is being charged, and no customer has been disconnected for not paying their bill,” Lanteigne said. “We think that’s important because we do understand there are concerns with estimated bills.”

Lanteigne also notes that the utility hired more workers in the customer care division in an effort to cut down on wait times for people calling looking for help.

Workers going unpaid in some cases

The recovery for the utility has been slow and painful, especially for customers and workers.

In late October, details surfaced that some contractors and suppliers were months behind in pay because of the cyberattack in March. Nova Scotia Power spokeswoman Jacqueline Foster apologized on behalf of the utility, saying invoices are being paid, but progress has been slow.

Tim Houtsma, CEO of Marid Industries, said his steel fabrication company is owed between $60,000 and $70,000.

“It stretches your finances where they really shouldn’t be stretched,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

With files from Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press