‘I’m not a bank but I feel like one’: N.S. utility customers say billing issues unacceptable

Frustration is growing in Nova Scotia as many Nova Scotia Power customers say they're struggling with record-high electricity bills after the utility company's cyberattack.

Frustration is growing in Nova Scotia as many Nova Scotia Power customers say they’re struggling with record-high electricity bills after the utility company’s cyberattack.

Nova Scotia Power said its remote meters will be fully functioning by March, after nearly a year of “estimating” thousands of bills.

For Dartmouth, N.S., resident Timothy Allenby, it’s unacceptable.

“My power bill is higher than my most recent paycheque,” he said.

Allenby stepped out during his lunch break from work to speak to Global News, explaining that he’s paying nearly a quarter of his income in energy costs. He’s just two weeks into a new job and the unpredictability of his next bill is making it impossible to budget, he said.

“I’m dreading what it’s going to be once my next bill comes in that actually covers all this snow we’ve had recently,” he said.

Nova Scotia Power has said it lost its ability to read meters remotely since suffering a cybersecurity breach last spring. It has since been estimating about half its customers’ bills.

The utility said about 75 per cent of its smart meters are back online, and vowed that any customers who paid an over-estimation will see that difference deducted on their next bill with a “true read.”