Houston government passing the buck on high power bills

HALIFAX — On Tuesday afternoon, the PC members of the Natural Resources Committee voted against the NDP’s request to have department officials answer Nova Scotians’ questions about the government’s role in addressing Nova Scotian Power’s over-billing, high bills and handling of the data breach.

Months after a cybersecurity breach that put the personal information of hundreds of thousands of Nova Scotians at risk, many Nova Scotia Power customers are reporting that they are being charged double their actual usage on their power bills. Since the Houston government was elected, the average Nova Scotian is paying $400 more per year for their power bills and recent data from Statistics Canada show that electricity costs in Nova Scotia have increased at more than twice the rate of the national average over the past year.

Despite the Houston government refusing to answer questions or take responsibility for Nova Scotians’ high power bills, there are actions they could take today to make the cost of power more affordable for all Nova Scotians.

So far the Houston government has ignored the NDP’s practical ideas to lower power bills, protect people’s privacy, and bring more accountability to Nova Scotia Power. Those ideas include:

• A 10 per cent rebate on every Nova Scotian’s power bill;
• A low-income power rate to ensure those most in need won’t fall behind;
• Legislation to protect Nova Scotians’ private information and allow people to recover their money if they’re harmed financially after a data breach;
• A comprehensive ownership and regulatory review of Nova Scotia Power.

“The Houston government likes to pretend that they have nothing to do with soaring power bills, and they can’t help Nova Scotians struggling with the cost of power, but that’s just not the case. The sky-high bills, the privacy breach, the overcharging – all of these are issues that this government should be addressing,” said Official Opposition Leader Claudia Chender. “The Premier just appointed himself as Energy Minister, but he’s refusing to answer any questions about what his government is doing about the cost of energy or how he regulates the utility. Nova Scotians deserve a government that tackles our challenges head on and isn’t afraid to answer questions. They deserve a government that works day and night to make sure they can keep their power, heat, and lights on through the winter.”

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