Community Reliability Meeting: A Letter to Tatamagouche & Surrounding Communities

A Letter to Tatamagouche

August 25, 2025

It was great to be in Tatamagouche and meet community members to talk about the reliability of power service in your area. You expect there to be electricity when you reach for the light switch, and our team is committed to ensuring you have service you can count on.

The community meeting (Tuesday, August 12, 2025) was a great opportunity to introduce you to members of our Reliability and Energy Delivery teams, answer your questions, and share updates on what work has been done and is planned, to continue to ensure you have reliable service.

Tree Trimming 

Tree trimming continues to be a priority in Tatamagouche and across the province, as trees coming into contact with power lines is the main cause of power outages in Nova Scotia. The power lines that serve customers in Tatamagouche, Earltown, Clydesdale, and Waugh’s River run through a rural area with a significant number of trees along some sections. Our team clears trees and vegetation that are at risk of falling or contacting both the transmission and distribution power lines. Transmission lines carry energy from the facilities where energy is produced to our substations, while distribution lines carry energy from the substation to homes and businesses.

• Since 2017, we have invested over $3.7 million to widen rights-of-way in several communities on this feeder, including Earltown.​
• This year, our team will be doing what’s called a “hazard tree sweep” in several areas along this feeder/circuit to remove trees, branches, and/or vegetation that is at risk of coming into contact with power lines or equipment.​
• Since 2016, we have invested over $1.36 million to widen 59 km of the rights-of-way around this transmission line. There have been no outages caused by trees on this line.
• This work is critical to reducing power outages and improving the reliability of service for customers.​

Planned Equipment Upgrades

• Installing a new trip saver on the feeder that serves your area. A trip saver, like a "smart fuse", will automatically re-establish power flow if the issue has resolved.​ For example, if a tree branch or other object made temporary contact with the power line.
• Continuing to strengthen and modernize the grid by using equipment designed to better withstand severe weather (e.g., bigger, stronger poles).
• In 2024, we upgraded communications and remote control capabilities in the Tatamagouche substation.
• We will be investing around $150,000 in each of the next two years (2025 & 2026) on upgrades to the transmission system.

Proactive Inspections 

• Equipment naturally deteriorates over time, which is why we inspect it on a regular basis. This ensures the equipment works safely and improves overall reliability.
• All main power lines are inspected every two years to identify areas in need of repair to reduce the risk of power outages from happening.
• The power lines serving the Tatamagouche and surrounding areas were inspected in 2024 and the transmission line is currently being inspected.
  

Thank you for the opportunity to have this important community conversation. If you have any follow up questions about the reliability of your service, work underway or planned for your area, please feel free to reach out to Ben Arsenault, the Reliability Advisor in your area, at benjamin.arsenault@nspower.ca.

We are committed to keeping you informed and ensuring you have reliable power. For more information on our five-year reliability plan and investments please visit here >  

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• Reliability

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