Power Rate Hikes Are Pushing Nova Scotians to the Brink

Last week, the Affordable Energy Coalition appeared before the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board to deliver an opening statement at Nova Scotia Power’s General Rate Application hearing. At the hearing, Nova Scotia Power requested electricity rate increases of 3.8% this year and 4.1% next year—at a time when many households are already struggling to keep the lights on and their homes warm.

The morning after the hearing, Chris Benjamin spoke with CBC’s Information Morning to explain why these proposed rate hikes represent an unfair and growing financial burden for people across the province. Watch the full interview here.

An Impossible Choice: Food, Medicine, or Heat

For far too many Nova Scotians, energy affordability is no longer about convenience—it’s about survival. Rising power bills are forcing people into impossible choices between paying for food, medication, and heating their homes. These are not choices anyone should have to make.

Nearly half of Nova Scotians are unable to keep up with their energy bills, with households spending more than 6% of their after-tax income on energy costs. This is the highest rate in Canada and a clear sign that our energy system is failing the people it is meant to serve.

A Better Path Forward Exists

Nova Scotia does not have to accept energy poverty as inevitable. The Energy Poverty Task Force has already laid out a clear and workable solution: the Home Energy Assistance Program.

This program includes:

• A 50% on-bill energy discount for low-income households

• Expanded energy efficiency programs to help people reduce energy use

• Investments that allow households to stay safe, healthy, and comfortable while lowering long-term costs

  
  

These measures would provide immediate relief while also reducing energy demand and preventing future crises.

Who Is the System Really Protecting?

In our opening statement at the general rate hearing, we raised some challenging questions:

• Why is a large, shareholder-owned corporation guaranteed a safe 9% profit rate while customers struggle to stay warm?

• Why are large industrial customers not paying their fair share of rising system costs?

• Why are households being asked to absorb repeated increases when they are already at the breaking point?

Energy is a basic necessity, not a luxury. A system that protects profits while leaving people cold is not working.

Our Message Is Clear

The Affordable Energy Coalition is calling on the province and regulators to put people first. Rate increases without meaningful protections will only deepen energy poverty and inequality across Nova Scotia.

We urge decision-makers to reject policies that place the burden on those least able to pay and to move swiftly to implement the Home Energy Assistance Program. Nova Scotians deserve an energy system that is fair and affordable.