What's going on with Nova Scotia Power's billing in wake of ransomware attack

Anjuli Patil · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 16, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Nova Scotia Power is sending workers retired to manually cheque powerfulness meters astatine homes to guarantee close billing, arsenic immoderate customers kick of receiving higher than expected bills.

It's the latest improvement since a ransomware onslaught breached the company's machine systems connected March 19 and brought immoderate of its systems to a halt. More than fractional of the utility's customers successful Nova Scotia — astir 280,000 — were informed by letter that their idiosyncratic accusation whitethorn person been compromised.

"The meters connected customers' homes person continued to accurately grounds vigor usage passim the cyber incident, but they're incapable to nonstop the accusation backmost to our billing systems close now," Chris Lanteigne, Nova Scotia Power's manager of lawsuit care, told CBC's Information Morning Nova Scotia successful an interrogation that aired Monday.

Lanteigne said meters that antecedently could send powerfulness usage information straight to Nova Scotia Power haven't been capable to bash that since the breach. He said helium expects workers who work meters volition beryllium retired collecting information "over the adjacent mates of months."

He said bills that person been sent retired implicit the past period were based connected estimates of "seasonal usage from the previous  year."

"When we are speechmaking the meter, that volition really amusement the accusation that's connected the metre to make the bill," Lanteigne said.

He said customers should telephone Nova Scotia Power straight if they're acrophobic astir a bill.

"We privation to assistance them recognize what has transpired connected their measure and we're blessed to speech it done with them and find a solution," helium said.

Billing was paused connected April 25 — erstwhile the breach was discovered — and lone resumed successful aboriginal June. Now, some customers are receiving two bills wrong a comparatively abbreviated play of time.

"Over the people of the past 5 weeks oregon so, we've been catching up connected billing," Lanteigne said.

"So erstwhile customers are receiving a bill, a bully mode to deliberation astir it is the archetypal 1 is catching up and past the clip betwixt that measure and the adjacent measure volition beryllium shorter."

He said the inferior is not presently charging precocious fees connected outstanding balances.

Customer with star panels gets 'significantly higher' bill

Robyn Brown, a Nova Scotia Power lawsuit successful Dartmouth, has had star panels connected her location since September 2022. She said her measure is usually astir $40 each 2 months — the outgo of the metre fee, since the panels make much energy than she uses. Her latest measure was around $162, much than 4 times higher than normal.

"It's not a batch of wealth compared to different people, but it was importantly higher," Brown said.

People with star panels get information astir their powerfulness procreation during a billing period. Brown said she noticed the latest measure didn't see that information.

She called the institution for answers and said she was told they weren't capable to way her star production.

"I was like, 'How did you travel up with this number?" … and fundamentally [the lawsuit work representative] didn't cognize wherever they generated this estimation from due to the fact that it didn't marque consciousness with immoderate of my erstwhile data. [She] said it could person been information from arsenic acold backmost arsenic 2022 earlier I got solar."

Brown said she was told she could pay the higher amount, which would eventually beryllium reflected connected her relationship arsenic a credit, or she could wait. She said she paid the magnitude for the metre fee.

"My interest is the information that they don't look to person an close work connected however overmuch star producers are producing and I'm worried. What's my recourse if they travel backmost with the adjacent adjusted measure adjacent period and there's nary star connected there? Like what are they going to bash then?" Brown said.

The Nova Scotia Energy Board, formerly known arsenic the Utility and Review Board, opened a proceeding into Nova Scotia Power's cybersecurity breach. It volition necessitate a study from the institution — which is doing its ain probe — astir the incident.

The study to the vigor committee indispensable include:

• An incidental description.
• Details connected affected systems and data, indicators of compromise (how the institution knew a breach happened).
• A root-cause investigation (how the breach happened, positive vulnerabilities and information gaps).
• Impact analysis.
• Response and betterment actions.
• Details connected postulation and retention of idiosyncratic data.
• Recommendations.

"While the committee appreciates that it volition not beryllium imaginable to publically disclose definite accusation for information reasons and to mitigate impacts relating to idiosyncratic and confidential accusation that was stolen, it is important that the board's enquiry beryllium conducted publically and arsenic transparently arsenic possible," a quality merchandise from the committee said Monday.

Once the study is filed, the committee volition found a nationalist process to reappraisal it and Nova Scotia Power's readying for and effect to the lawsuit that happened.

The committee wants Nova Scotia Power to record the study by the extremity of the year, though that deadline could change.