New NS Power CEO says ‘rebuilding trust is a big challenge’ after 2025 cyberattack

Vivek Sood, the new CEO of Nova Scotia Power, discusses last year’s cyberattack and smart meters.

More than a year after massive cyberattack that affected nearly one million customers, the new CEO of Nova Scotia Power says “rebuilding trust is a big challenge.”

Vivek Sood, who has been part of the power utility’s board since June 2024, became CEO on March 1, taking over for Peter Gregg, who left for a new position with Emera Inc. Gregg had been CEO and president since November 2020.

In a sit-down interview with CTV News Atlantic’s Bruce Frisko, Sood said they will address ongoing billing concerns for customers.

“Trust isn’t given; you earn it,” he said. “What we’re doing is making commitments.”

Last week, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, which launched a review in the wake of the March 2025 cyberattack, said the power utility has promised to provide a security assessment of their information technology’s enhanced safeguards by Oct. 31.

The utility has also pledged to delete all social insurance numbers (SINs) from its systems.

“SINs were kept in the past for authentication,” Sood said. “They’re not used anymore.”

The cyber incident, which impacted roughly 375,000 current and 540,000 former customers, disrupted the company’s billing services. Nova Scotia Power says it has spent the last year reconnecting its smart meters.

“We know the meters have been connected,” Sood said. “There’s still work to do. Now there’s work to get the information flowing.”

Sood also said electricity reliability is a major goal for the power utility. Last September, the company received a $1-million fine for failing to meet their reliability targets for the eighth year in a row.

“Reliability is critically important,” he said. “We’ve made progress over the past couple of years.”

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page