Nova Scotia Power

20th century

The Nova Scotia Power Commission was formed in 1919 by the provincial government, following the lead of several other Canadian provinces in establishing Crown corporation electrical utilities. The commission constructed and opened its first hydro plant at Tantallon the following year. Throughout the 1920s-1960s, the commission grew as private and municipal owned hydro plants and electrical utilities went bankrupt or sold their assets. In 1960, Nova Scotia was connected to the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission in the first electrical inter-connection between provinces in Canada. The Nova Scotia Power Commission underwent unprecedented expansion during the late 1960s when five new thermal generating stations were constructed to meet the growing residential and industrial demand in the province.

On January 27, 1972, the Government of Nova Scotia acquired Nova Scotia Light and Power Company, Limited (NSLP), an investor-owned utility, leasing its assets to the renamed Nova Scotia Power Corporation (NSPC).[3] In 1984, NSPC opened the world's first tidal power generating station on the Annapolis River at Annapolis Royal. This technology, similar to hydroelectric dams, did not become globally widespread. In 1992, NSPC was privatized by the provincial government of Premier Donald Cameron in what was then the largest private equity transaction in Canadian history. Cameron's government had been under heavy pressure to control provincial deficits and debt servicing thus the controversial decision to sell the Crown corporation. This privatization created Nova Scotia Power Incorporated (NSPI). On December 2, 1998, NSPI shareholders voted to restructure the company to create a holding company which would be shareholder-owned, with the regulated utility being a wholly owned subsidiary of the holding company. On December 9, 1998, NSPI received approval to establish NS Power Holdings Incorporated and NSPI shareholders exchanged their shares in NSPI for shares in NS Power Holdings Inc. on a one-to-one basis on January 1, 1999. Common shares in NS Power Holdings Inc. began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Montreal Stock Exchange on January 6, 1999. The NS Power Holdings Inc. name was changed to Emera Incorporated on July 17, 2000.

21st century

In the wake of major winter storms in 2004,[4] NS Power came under increasing criticism from the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, energy-oriented public interest groups, and provincial political parties for a perceived lack of investment in the monitoring, preventive maintenance and instrumenting of its electric grid. A study was eventually commissioned from SNC-Lavalin to explore a "regional system operator" to relieve NS Power of the control of the grid,[5] but Nova Scotia Power remains a single, vertically integrated utility as of 2014.

NB Power controversy

Concerns were raised by the Nova Scotia government regarding the future of Nova Scotia Power and the province's renewable energy strategy in the aftermath of a tentative C$4.8 billion deal for the sale of most assets of NB Power to Hydro-Québec, on October 29, 2009. The government of Nova Scotia was concerned that the deal could affect its plan to develop renewable energy sources for exports to New England in competition with Quebec's publicly owned utility, as all existing transmission routes were through New Brunswick.[6] The sale was reduced in scope due to public pressure in NB, then dropped entirely. The Shawn Graham government fell partly as a result of the failure of these deals and the lack of public consultation prior to pursuing them.

In partial response to concerns about being cut off from the New England market, NS Premier Darrell Dexter began to pursue a "loop" strategy for Nova Scotia's electric interconnection, connecting Muskrat Falls in Labrador to Cape Breton, thence to mainland Nova Scotia and, via subsea DC transmission cable, New England. This would connect NL, NS and potentially PEI with its peers in FERC Eastern Interconnection directly without relying on Quebec or New Brunswick. Thus, any future deal to extend Quebec's ownership or Quebec's interconnection could not prevent dealings between peers in the Eastern Interconnection. Nova Scotia Power has not announced any plans for a direct interconnection with the United States as of 2014.

Maritime Link

On November 18, 2010, Nova Scotia Power's parent company, Emera, announced a $6.2 billion deal with Newfoundland and Labrador's Nalcor Energy to develop the Phase 1 of the Lower Churchill Project, including transmission infrastructure to bring power to Nova Scotia from Muskrat Falls, Labrador. By providing long-term, guaranteed access to a block of hydroelectric power at a fixed price,[7] the deal served the longstanding policy goal of reducing Nova Scotia's dependence on coal-fired generation.[8] A new regulated utility registered in Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Power Maritime Link Incorporated (NSPML), was formed to build and maintain the Maritime Link, including overhead power lines between the Granite Canal Hydroelectric Generating Station and Cape Ray, Newfoundland and a submarine power cable across the Cabot Strait. In 2013, Nova Scotia Power signed an agreement to act as the agent of NSPML in commercial relationships with neighbouring utilities. Nova Scotia Power also agreed to provide transmission services for Nalcor Energy in Nova Scotia, allowing electricity to be traded among all four Atlantic provinces.[9]

2012 audit

An audit commissioned by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB) and conducted by Liberty Consulting Group in 2012 found that NSP overcharged its customers by $21.8 million because it paid too much for fuel over a two-year period.[10] The audit was heavily redacted when first released in July 2009, but the NSUARB ordered the release of the unredacted report in September 2009, arguing that it would not harm NSP's ability to carry on its business.[11]

Programs administered by Nova Scotia Power

As NS implemented its climate and demand side management strategies, lobbyists questioned whether the Nova Scotia Power could be trusted to administer a province-wide conservation program designed to prevent having to build any large, new power plant. Its "integrated resource plan" of 2007 indicated that energy conservation is an important element to meet the future electricity needs of Nova Scotia. NS Power began implementing Energy Efficiency & Conservation programs (EEC) for customers in 2008.[12]

Conservation programs for large commercial and industrial electricity users were the first to be launched by NSP, in May 2008.[13] Although electric utilities across Canada commonly administer similar programs,[14][15][16]

Municipal utilities

In 2013, the Town of Lunenburg Electric Utility (TLEU) initiated a smart meter pilot project. Participating customers were provided with meters that could record power consumption in real time, and a wireless network was set up to communicate with the meters.[29] Municipal Electric Utilities of Nova Scotia Cooperative Ltd. and the Nova Scotia Department of Energy had previously studied ways to reduce or shift demand during peak times as a way to reduce power costs for customers served by the municipal utilities.[30]

Thermal power stations

Combustion turbines

• Burnside Combustion Turbine
• Tusket Combustion Turbine
• Victoria Junction Combustion Turbine

Tidal

Provincial

• The vast majority of residents of Nova Scotia are direct retail customers of NS Power's distribution network, receiving bills directly from NSP.

Industrial

• Intertape Polymer Inc. (Truro)
• Michelin (Bridgewater, Granton, Waterville)
• Port Hawkesbury Paper[44] (Point Tupper)

Municipal utilities