The Premier continues to be unimpressed by Nova Scotia Power.
This week, the company appeared before a provincial committee and promised to fix overcharged bills.
Tim Houston says the utility’s response to this year’s cyber security breach has showed a lack of respect for their customers.
He says people are paying power bills they might not have to pay.
“We’ll have Nova Scotians backs on this. We’ll make sure that we do what we can to hold Nova Scotia Power to account, we’ve shown that, and we’ll continue to do that,” said the Premier after cabinet meetings Thursday.
“For them to appear before the committee and essentially shrug their shoulders and say ‘it’s okay, we’ll take care of it,’ that’s not good enough.”
The Premier adds they’re considering a ‘number of things,’ including legislation or asking the Utility and Review Board to fine the company.
“This is something that’s on the mind of Nova Scotians, and it’s certainly, squarely on my mind.”
NS Power say they’re working on restoring systems
The utility was summoned Tuesday to answer questions from the Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development about highly-estimated bills.
“To you the committee, and all Nova Scotians, my promise to you is that if we have overestimated your bill, we will fix it. If you have overpaid, we will fix it, and if we make a mistake, we will fix it,” said Peter Gregg, President and CEO of Nova Scotia Power.
He said communications with smart meters were knocked offline in the cyber attack, about 75 percent of meters have been read since.
“Restoring all systems will take time, but we’re providing flexible options for our customers, including equal billing, pay-what-you-can arrangements, and photo meter reads.”
The company currently isn’t charging late fees or interest.
