NS Power fails to meet all performance targets for 8th year in a row, gets $1M fine

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

For the eighth year in a row, Nova Scotia Power failed to meet all of its performance targets, incurring a $1 million penalty in the process.

The Nova Scotia Energy Board issued the penalty after going over the power utility’s annual performance standards report for 2024, noting that they failed to meet their reliability targets for the system average interruption duration index (SAIDI) and the circuit average interruption duration index (CKAIDI).

“The Board recognizes NS Power’s recent efforts to address reliability and service issues made more challenging by climate change, and also notes that performance has improved in 2024 above that experienced in 2023,” the written decision from the board reads. “However, 2024 is still the eighth consecutive year that NS Power failed to meet one or more of its performance targets.”

The performance standards were implemented in 2017. The utility received a $1.25 million administrative penalty for failing to meet all of those standards in 2023.

The 2024 SAIDI ranking was 5.26, which means every Nova Scotia Power customer, on average, experienced power outages that totaled five hours and 16 minutes. The target ranking is less than 4.29.

Nova Scotia Power has not satisfied the SAIDI target since 2020.

The CKAIDI ranking was 31.81 for circuit 91W-411 in Middlefield, which means customers in that area experienced, on average, 31 hours and 49 minutes of outages in 2024. The target ranking is less than 19.

The Middlefield circuit ranked among the worst five per cent in outage duration for a third consecutive year in 2024. The written decision says Nova Scotia Power cited two significant events that contributed to more than half of the total CKAIDI ranking for that circuit.

“On January 7, 2024, a logging truck was involved in a motor vehicle accident in the Buckfield area, breaking several distribution poles which caused a nine-hour outage affecting the entire circuit,” the decision reads. “Subsequently, on July 20, 2024, an outage of nearly 10 hours resulted from wildlife interference at the 91W substation, which impacted 1,241 customers.

“Although wildlife contact can sometimes be avoided by installing protective barriers, NS Power stated that it investigated that possibility after the incident but determined it was not an option in this situation due to limited spacing. The Board accepts NS Power’s position that those incidents were mostly beyond its control.”

Planned outages

The decision says there were 1,166 planned outages in 2024 compared to 1,938 in 2023, but both numbers dwarfed the 467 planned outages in 2022. Roughly 78 per cent of customers experienced a planned outage in 2024, a significant increase from 56 per cent in 2023 and 39 per cent in 2022.

“It is worthwhile noting that these statistics do not include all planned outages,” NS Power stated that during regular business operations, brief outages which are required to facilitate reliability and upgrade work are coordinated with customers in real time and are not coded as planned outages.

The board noted 8.9 per cent of Nova Scotia Power customers experienced five or more sustained outages in 2024, which was down from 11.4 per cent in 2023 and was lower than the five-year average of 9.9 per cent.

Financial penalty

As in previous years, Nova Scotia Power pointed to climate change and the increasing intensity and frequency of storms as a reason it failed to reach its reliability targets. The written decision noted there were no recorded significant, major or extreme weather events in 2024.

“The apparent reluctance to move beyond frequent referral to weather conditions that have changed as reasons for failure to achieve performance standards targets is concerning to the Board,” the decision reads. “Those types of statements do not instill confidence in NS Power’s commitment or effectiveness in meeting the reliability challenges going forward.

“If more frequent and damaging storms are becoming the new normal, NS Power needs to ensure that its performance, not just its investment plans, keeps up with those changes.”

The board also expressed concern that Nova Scotia Power does not expect to meet all of its performance standards until 2029, 12 years after the targets were implemented. The utility plans on spending more than $1.3 billion on reliability project investments between 2025 and 2029 to allow it to consistently meet those targets.

“The Board finds that imposing an administrative penalty is warranted, although not for a punitive purpose or effect, but to promote future compliance with the performance standards,” the decision reads.

The $1 million penalty will be credited to customers under the fuel adjustment mechanism no later than Oct. 31.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page