Innovation

 

Powering a green Nova Scotia, together

As more communities, homeowners and drivers choose to go electric, we’re preparing for the future. We’re modernizing our grid and exploring new and emerging technologies to manage increased demand for electricity, while we grow our use of renewable energy. This means improved reliability, access to exciting new technologies, and the ability to lower your carbon footprint. 

Whether you’re interested in renewable energy, electric vehicles, green buildings, or smart technology, you’re helping to make a difference. Together, we can create a cleaner future for our province.


Insights into your energy use with MyEnergy Insights

Klong

What does a smarter, modernized grid mean for you? It’s about more convenience, options, and control over how you use energy. It means new tools to help you track and reduce your energy consumption—like MyEnergy Insights. Learn more from Klong, one of our Customer Service representatives.

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Electric Vehicles Smart Charging

With growing popularity, there are going to be a lot more electric vehicles on the road and we're preparing our electrical grid to welcome that change. By testing smart charging, we are able to collaborate with customers to shift the time they're charging their EVs at home to lower demand times, like overnight. Learn more about smart charging and how we're working towards a greener Nova Scotia.

 

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How everyone benefits from innovation

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Reliability & Grid Infrastructure

We’re evolving and adapting our grid to meet Nova Scotia’s growing demand for electricity. This includes strengthening our system against increasingly severe weather, caused by climate change.
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Convenience & Control

With innovation comes new tools and technology, offering you more choice, convenience, and control over how you use energy.
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Clean Energy & A Greener Future

We’re transitioning to cleaner sources of energy. That means when you plug in your appliances, heat your home using electricity, or charge your electric vehicle, you’re plugging into a grid that’s getting greener over time. Reducing our carbon emissions allows for a clean, and healthy Nova Scotia for all.

Our Innovation Work

Clean Energy in Action
Investing in renewables for a cleaner Nova Scotia
We are on a journey to reduce our carbon footprint. Since 2005, we have reduced the use of coal from 55% to 33% and more than tripled the amount of renewable energy on the grid in Nova Scotia. This has reduced our carbon emissions by 46%. Learn more about our commitment as we work towards 80% renewable energy by 2030: Clean Energy.

Accessible solar for everyone with Community Solar
A community solar garden is a cost-effective and approachable way for all Nova Scotians to access solar energy, without having to install their own panels. When customers subscribe to the community solar garden, they are helping generate more clean energy that gets distributed across the grid, and they benefit by saving money on energy costs over time. Explore Community Solar.

Ensuring Reliable Service in a Changing Climate
Powering our communities, every day
Through proactive plans and innovative technology, we are continuously inspecting, testing and improving our grid infrastructure. Each year, we invest approximately $180 million in new equipment, upgrades, refurbishments, and tree trimming across the province. Our weather is changing, and we are experiencing more extreme weather more often due to climate change. Providing safe, reliable electricity every day is our commitment. Dive into the details: Reliability.(nspower.ca)

Leading the charge through grid connected home battery technology
Investing in innovative technology, like home battery systems, is key to modernizing our grid, helping to keep rates stable, and growing our use of renewables. The benefit to participating customers is enjoying instant backup power for basic home necessities in the event of an outage. We have been on the path to sharing in the benefits of this technology since 2018 with our Intelligent Feeder Project and in 2021, we expanded our investigation with Battery Storage Pilot, part of Smart Grid Nova Scotia.

Smart Technology for Savings
Creating a smarter energy future for Nova Scotia 
In 2019, we started a multiyear project to upgrade 500,000 electric meters in Nova Scotia to smart meters — an important first step in modernizing our electrical grid to provide customers with more convenience, reliability, and control over their energy use. Find out more about the benefits of Smart Meters, including how they transform energy insights, improve response time, enable faster connections, and lower meter reading estimates.

New insights into your energy use
With the adoption of smart meters and the roll out of MyEnergy Insights, customers can access their daily energy use information and energy savings tips. This puts you in control of how you use power and manage costs, all within your Nova Scotia Power MyAccount. MyEnergy Insights is a digital tool that analyzes your home or business’ energy use to provide billing insights and notifies you of higher-than-normal usage.

Testing new rates that work for you 
One of the many benefits of upgrading to smart meters is new and innovative solutions like time varying pricing that provide customers with more control over their energy use and costs. Through a limited pilot program in 2022/2023, we are examining how shifts in the energy use at various times throughout the day can benefit both customers and the grid. These rate plans provide opportunities for customers to save money on their power bill by reducing or shifting their energy use from peak hours when demand is high for electricity, to off-peak hours when demand is low. Get the details on our Residential Pilot Program.

Sharing in the value of new technology with Smart Grid Nova Scotia
Smart grids offer a future in which individual pieces of the electrical system — including smart devices and technology in customers’ homes and businesses — can communicate with one another, so that the entire electrical system works together to use energy more efficiently. This means lower overall costs for customers and a cleaner environment. Join the journey as we invest in our future, every day, with Smart Grid Nova Scotia.

Driving Toward Zero Emissions with Electric Mobility
Connecting Nova Scotia End-to-End
Nova Scotia Power's electric vehicle fast-charging network connects Nova Scotia end-to-end so EV drivers can travel through the province emissions free with ease since 2018. We are continuing to invest in the growing demand for EVs across the province and collaborating with our partners to ensure the charging infrastructure is adequate and reliable. Explore the route: EV Fast-Charging Network.

Save Money While Charging Your EV
Electric Vehicles are one critical piece of our future smart grid. As EVs become more common, we want to learn how they can make a difference. Through Smart Grid Nova Scotia, we welcomed over 200 drivers into our EV Smart Charging Programs that help them save money while helping to operate the grid more efficiently and reliably. Learn more about our Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Pilot.

Lowering costs by driving electric on the job
As our customers are increasingly choosing to drive electric, so are we. By deploying electric vehicles for our fleet, we are reducing operating costs. Wondering how your business can go electric? Meet our business solutions team and Electrify Your Fleet today.

On the cutting edge: demonstrating bi-directional charging
Imagine a future where your vehicle can support your home or business through a power outage, or maybe even earn money for you while it is parked. In partnership with NSCC, Nova Scotia Power installed the first bi-directional charging station in Atlantic Canada to demonstrate and study the concept of using a vehicle battery to supply energy back to the grid and buildings they are connected to. This novel approach to energy use in electric vehicles is on the forefront of research in this realm and could lower the total cost of ownership in the transition to electric mobility. Bidirectional charging: A first in Atlantic Canada.

Supporting our customers to make choosing electric easy
When you drive electric you significantly reduce your operating costs and carbon emissions. Through partnership with Clean Foundation, we make choosing electric easy for customers. See how Next Ride helps Nova Scotian’s take advantage of electrifying their transportation: What to know before buying an electric car - with Next Ride.

Protecting Our Land, Water, and Air
Supporting world class solutions for monitoring fish health, movement, and the environment
Through access to our White Rock Hydro System and expertise, Nova Scotia Power has contributed to the development of a novel fish tracking system with Innovsea. Part of the Ocean Aware Project from Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, we are building upon our work to protect fish habitat in our hydro systems. Learn more out our Ocean Environmental Initiatives.

Repurposing and reusing facilities to cut on carbon emissions
The former thermal generating plant on Halifax’s waterfront is now our main office, known to our employees as “1H”, named after the original electrical substation that operated there. The building was the first in Atlantic Canada to achieve LEED Platinum certification and also houses The Discovery Centre and Junior Achievement Nova Scotia. More details on our LEED Environmental Initiatives.

 

 

 

 

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