NS Power expects full recovery from cyberattack by early 2026: report

The Nova Scotia Power headquarters is seen in Halifax on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018.

Nova Scotia Power expects to fully recover from the cyberattack that compromised the personal information of hundreds of thousands of customers by early 2026, more than nine months after the incident.

In its monthly report to the Nova Scotia Energy Board regarding the cyberattack, Nova Scotia Power said it expects “customer billing and engagement processes to return to business as usual in early 2026.” It notes interim measures will remain in place for the time being.

“Full restoration for major capabilities is expected to progress through 2026,” the report reads. “Throughout, business continuity measures remain in place to mitigate impacts to customers, employees, and regulatory obligations.

The energy board, which is investigating the cyberattack, ordered Nova Scotia Power to file monthly reports on the incident. The board was critical of the first report, which was filed on Aug. 20 after a three-week delay, calling it “underwhelming” and full of information that was already publicly available.

“The Board would have expected more detail about the impact of the cybersecurity incident on its business systems and how it is affecting customers, interested parties and any ongoing regulatory matters before the Board,” a letter from the board read.

The second monthly report was filed on Oct. 1. The next one is due on Nov. 1 and a full incident report is due by Dec. 31.

Impact to billing

Nova Scotia Power first found system applications were not functional on April 25, but they later learned a “threat actor” had gained unauthorized access to parts of their network on or around March 19. The utility informed customers of the breach in early May.

The report says the cyberattack did not impact the utility’s ability to deliver power to customers, but it did affect many of their business and technology functions, including customer billing.

“While meters have continued to accurately record electricity usage, the Incident disrupted customer billing processes, online self-service functions, and meter data integration,” the report reads. “In the immediate response, customers were supported through estimated billing supplemented by manual meter readings, while engagement was redirected to call centre channels where online options were limited.

“Recovery efforts have since stabilized core customer engagement channels, and contact centre operations are now fully functional. Online account access and billing capabilities have been restored, while work has commenced to reinstate automated meter data integration.”

Due to the incident, the report notes Nova Scotia Power has waived all late fees and paused collections activity.

Nova Scotia Power previously reported that roughly 277,000 customers were impacted by the breach, but a separate report in September revealed all customers may have been affected by the incident.

Some of the stolen information – including birth dates, social insurance numbers and bank account information – was published on the dark web.

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