This rate change is related specifically to fuel costs. We know a rate increase is never welcome news when the cost of everything has gone up. The increase goes directly towards paying for the fuel used to generate electricity. Fuel costs are managed separately from general rates so that customers pay the exact cost of fuel; no more, no less.

Over the past year, we have seen a huge increase in fuel costs due to global factors outside of Nova Scotia. Knowing the pressures already facing Nova Scotians, we worked with the province and they decided to assist with managing fuel costs, which helped to reduce the rate impact in 2024 for our customers. Like all costs, the cost of fuel to generate electricity is subject to rigorous oversight and is approved by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

When you sign up for MyAccount you are automatically signed up to receive your bills electronically. If you need support registering please visit Create or Manage You Account.

Our Equal Billing Plan can help you manage your budget by spreading the cost of your annual electricity use over 12 equal monthly payments. To learn if equal billing is right for you or to sign-up using our on-line form, visit Consider Equal Billing. 

No. You can ask to be removed from the Equal Billing plan at any time. When you make the change, the balance owing on your account will need to be paid by the due-date shown on your last bill. This amount is shown as Total Amount Due on your bill.

Once you’re on the plan, keep an eye on the Total Amount Due. This is your actual amount owing (or credited to your account). It reflects the power you’ve used and the Equal Billing payments you’ve made. This number will fluctuate throughout the year, since power use changes, but your Equal Billing payments are the same for 12 months.

Mid-year is a good time to take a close look and see if Equal Billing is working for you. If your summer bill shows a Total Amount Due of more than 3 times your monthly payment amount, you may want to contact us to see if your monthly payment should be changed. As the end of the year approaches, your Total Amount Due should be getting closer to zero.

If at any time you’re concerned the Equal Billing amount may not be enough to cover your power use for the year, call us. We can discuss whether your monthly payment should change.

To ensure your monthly payment amount is on track with your most recent 12 months of usage, and you're closer to a zero balance at year-end. Learn more here.

Your Equal Billing amount is recalculated in January because any rate changes take effect at the same time. This helps ensure your Equal Billing amount doesn't change throughout the year.

Equal Billing customers who also sign up on our automatic payment plan can select the date their payment comes out of the bank. Please note this is a separate service from customers registered on MyAccount who set their own recurring payments.

You can't set the payment, which is based on your estimated power use for the year, divided into 12 equal monthly payments.

You can change your habits to use less power, reducing the amount of electricity your annual calculation is based upon.

No. Equal Billing can help you manage your budget by spreading the cost of your annual electricity use over 12 equal monthly payments.

Equal Billing customers pay the same energy rates as customers on the Bi-Monthly Billing Plan.

Yes. Visit your bank's website and select Nova Scotia Power as a payee.

When you sign up for MyAccount you are automatically signed up to receive your bills electronically. If you need support registering please visit Create or Manage You Account.

You can call us or request an arrangement online through our Make A Payment Arrangement form. 

Visit our Customer Service page to find all the ways you can contact us. 

Our Equal Billing Plan can help you manage your budget by spreading the cost of your annual electricity use over 12 equal monthly payments. To learn if equal billing is right for you or to sign-up using our on-line form, visit Consider Equal Billing. 

Yes. Visit our Move Power form within MyAccount. Please give us 10 business days to move your connection, and please be advised that a security deposit may be required.

Some municipalities operate their own electric service. If you live in Antigonish, Berwick, Canso, Lunenburg, Mahone Bay or Riverport, please contact your local provider to request service. 

Yes. Visit your bank's website and select Nova Scotia Power as a payee.

More than 70% of Canadian homes and businesses currently use smart meter technology. Our supplier, Itron, has successfully installed more than 80 million CENTRON® meters in North America, including 20 million OpenWay® CENTRON meters without any safety issues. The smart meters installed in Nova Scotia are the latest generation meter in this line called the OpenWay® Riva CENTRON Meter.

Smart meters are tested in accordance with safety standards established by a number of industry standards bodies. Our meters meet or exceed all government regulations and safety standards set by Measurement Canada and Health Canada Safety Code 6.

Smart meters in Nova Scotia also meet Underwriters Laboratories safety standard 2735. This safety standard is a written document that outlines the process in which smart meters are tested to help mitigate risk, injury, or danger. Underwriters Laboratories is an internationally recognized standard-setting organization which combines extensive safety research, scientific expertise, and an uncompromising focus on quality. Our supplier was required to provide us with smart meters approved by Underwriters Laboratories. In October 2018, they received a notice of completion and authorization to apply the Underwriters Laboratories mark, indicating that our meters complied with their safety requirements.

No. Energy use, the weather, and the number of days between meter readings are factors that can increase bills. Like all meters, smart meters measure consumption, but do not affect energy use. Like analogue and digital meters, smart meters are regulated by Measurement Canada and undergo rigorous and regular quality testing to ensure power consumption calculations are accurate.

Learn more about Measurement Canada regulations:

• General information
• Laws and requirements
• Meter accuracy
• Questions and answers on electricity meters, including smart meters  

With more that 95% of homes and business in Nova Scotia now having smart meters – we continue to build the network and transition the meters to remote billing, meaning that in most cases in-person meter reads for billing purposes will no longer be required every two months.

We know some customers like to read their meter occasionally. Here’s how to read your smart meter:

• Smart meters cycle through several screens before they display the kilowatt hours (“kWh”) reading. These screens are normal.
• For residential customers, the screen that shows the kWh usage will appear with a code “d1” to the left. This screen also displays the kWh used.

Not sure if you have a smart meter? As pictured below, smart meters have a digital display, are branded with the name OpenWay® Riva, and in most cases have a blue label. 

Need help? Our Customer Care centre will be happy to walk you through the process. You can call them at 1.800.428.6230.

Your time-of-day rates will remain the same with a smart meter, plus you’ll have access to all the benefits of smart technology.

TOD customers with an Electric Thermal Storage (“ETS”) unit connected to their meter may require a timer be installed at the same time as their smart meter.

• If you require a timer - you will be contacted by an ETS contractor in your area who will book an appointment at a time that’s convenient for you and arrange to visit your property. It will take the electrician about an hour to install the timer. Once complete, the contractor will notify us, and we’ll schedule your meter upgrade. The upgrade takes less than 15 minutes to complete and you’ll  experience a momentary loss of power.
• If you do not require a timer - our technician will simply remove your current meter and replace it with a new smart meter. This takes less than 15 minutes to complete, and you’ll experience a momentary loss of power. No appointment needed.

The timer being installed is called the OMRON Digital Daily Time Switch (H5F). A detailed guide about the timer, including lifetime warranty information can be found here.

Yes! You will require a bi-directional smart meter – one that collects energy use data going into both your premise, and the grid, while also retaining the ability to transmit this information to our data centre. 

All devices that use wireless communication produce radio frequency (“RF”) emissions, also referred to as “RF energy”. This includes everyday use items such as cellular phones, computers and wi-fi routers.

Health Canada’s Safety Code 6 sets the safe exposure limits for RF energy from wireless devices. The code reflects an ongoing review of published scientific studies related to safe human exposure to RF energy, including non-thermal effects. The OpenWay® Riva CENTRON meters installed in Nova Scotia adhere to Safety Code 6. In third-party testing conducted in October of 2020, a single smart meter installed on a detached residential home tested at 100x less than the safe exposure limit set by Health Canada’s Safety Code 6.

Since RF energy exposure levels in smart meters are far below Canadian and international safety limits, Health Canada does not require any precautionary measures to be taken. In cases where multiple smart meters are installed together, as in high-rise buildings, the total exposure levels from multiple smart meters are still far below Health Canada's RF energy exposure limits.

There is an opt out option available if you decide smart meters are not for you. By opting out of a smart meter, you are choosing non-standard meter service from NS Power and could be charged a monthly fee for that service in the future. This fee would ensure that costs to manually read your meter and maintain older systems and processes are not passed onto smart meter customers.

• Customers whose meters are currently read every two months could pay a fee of approximately $4 per month. 

• Customers whose meters are currently read every month could pay a fee of approximately $22 per month.

To opt out, you are required to review and submit an opt out acknowledgement form.

Complete the residential opt out form here.

Complete the business opt out form here.

Customers who opt out, can opt back in at anytime, at no cost.

Smart meters transmit energy use information, in an encrypted format, over a private and secure wireless network to our data centre. Smart meters do not transmit personal information. Our smart meters adhere to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Interagency Report 7628 that sets guidelines for smart grid cybersecurity.

We take the privacy of customer information very seriously. We do not sell personal information and only share it with third parties in limited circumstances to provide services to customers.

The steps we take to protect customer information is outlined in our privacy policy.