What Berwick Electric Commission does (and what Nova Scotia Power does instead)

Berwick is one of five Nova Scotia towns that still run their own electricity utility. Berwick Electric Commission is the Town's electric service: it owns the distribution wires, transformers, service drops and meters inside the town service area, and it is also the entity that bills you. Its parent is the Town of Berwick.

The electricity itself, the bulk power flowing into Berwick, comes from Nova Scotia Power. Nova Scotia Power's grid feeds the Commission's network under a wholesale arrangement, and from there the Commission distributes it across its own lines to your meter. Two utilities, one bill, one outage number.

Where Berwick Electric Commission delivers power

If your address is inside the Town of Berwick service area, the Commission is your distributor, along with some adjacent areas of Kings County in the Annapolis Valley. Beyond that boundary, Nova Scotia Power is the wires owner. The Commission's footprint covers the neighbourhoods of Berwick and its immediate fringe in the heart of the Valley.

How Berwick's charges appear on your bill

A residential Berwick Electric Commission bill carries a fixed monthly Base Charge plus a per-kWh Energy Charge, set through the Commission's rate schedule. Nova Scotia applies 15 % HST, but the provincial 10 % portion on residential home electricity is rebated at the till through the Your Energy Rebate Program, so households effectively pay only the 5 % federal portion. The cost stack reflects what the Commission pays Nova Scotia Power for bulk power plus its own distribution and operating costs.

Contact details

24/7 after-hours emergency line
902-678-1666

Outages, downed wires, anything dangerous. For an immediate hazard, call 911 first.
Town office (business hours)
902-538-8068

Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Atlantic time); 24/7 after-hours outage line

Report a power outage

If your power is out, call the 24/7 after-hours power-outage dispatch at 902-678-1666. The Commission's crews handle outages on the local distribution network; if the cause sits upstream on Nova Scotia Power's transmission grid, restoration depends on Nova Scotia Power's crews.

New connection or service upgrade

For a new build, a service upgrade or any work that changes the wires or meter inside the town service area, you deal with Berwick Electric Commission. Call 902-538-8068 or visit https://www.berwick.ca/berwick-electric-commission.html. You will need the civic address, a site sketch, the service amperage signed off by your electrician, and the relevant Nova Scotia electrical permit.

Moving home, transferring or closing a service

For a move within the town service area, call Berwick Electric Commission: the Commission closes the old billing account and opens the new one. Allow a couple of business days for a standard move, and a little more around month-end when volumes peak. If you are moving outside Berwick, you will close the Commission account and open a new one with Nova Scotia Power at the new address.

Meters, meter reading and accuracy

Berwick Electric Commission owns the meter at your address. If you suspect a fault, request an accuracy test: the Commission arranges for the meter to be tested against Measurement Canada tolerances. If the meter reads outside tolerance, the test is free and you receive a billing adjustment; if it passes, the test fee is charged to you at the Commission's tariff rate.

Contact finder

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Note: under AUC Rule 002, Alberta distributors are not required to pay automatic compensation for outages. Damage claims are evaluated case-by-case on negligence.

Compensation and damage claims

Nova Scotia has no statutory automatic-compensation scheme for individual outages. You can file a damage claim with Berwick Electric Commission, evaluated case-by-case on negligence. Losses from weather, third-party contact, wildlife or planned outages are routinely denied. For most residential losses, home insurance is faster and more likely to pay out.

Regulator and complaint escalation

Berwick Electric Commission answers to Berwick Town Council, which approves its rate schedule, and is regulated as a municipal electric utility by the Nova Scotia Energy Board (NSEB), formerly the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB). If a billing or service dispute cannot be resolved with the Commission directly, you can escalate to the Town's customer service team and, ultimately, to the Nova Scotia Energy Board.

Selectra energy expert answers

Is Berwick Electric Commission the same company as Nova Scotia Power?
No. Berwick Electric Commission is a commission of the Town of Berwick. It runs the local distribution wires inside the town service area and is the entity that sends your bill. Nova Scotia Power generates the electricity and feeds it into the Commission's network under a wholesale arrangement. Two organisations: the Commission owns the wires-to-meter side and your bill; Nova Scotia Power supplies the bulk power.

My power just went out. Which number do I call?
The 24/7 after-hours power-outage dispatch is 902-678-1666. If you can see a downed live wire or anything that looks dangerous, call 911 before anything else. The Commission's crews restore faults on the local distribution network; an upstream transmission fault is handled by Nova Scotia Power.

Why does a small town like Berwick run its own electricity commission?
History. The Town of Berwick set up its own municipal electric commission early on and kept it when most of Nova Scotia consolidated under Nova Scotia Power. Berwick is one of only a handful of municipally-owned electric utilities left in the province, alongside Antigonish, Lunenburg, Mahone Bay and Riverport. Each one buys bulk power from Nova Scotia Power and distributes it locally.

Who arranges a new electricity connection in Berwick?
The Commission, for any address inside the Town of Berwick service area: call 902-538-8068 or visit https://www.berwick.ca/berwick-electric-commission.html. For an address outside the town service area in the wider Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia Power is the wires owner.

Can I shop around for a cheaper electricity supplier in Berwick?
No. Inside the town service area, the Commission is the only entity allowed to distribute and retail electricity, and there is no retail competition anywhere in Nova Scotia. Your savings options are usage and efficiency, not switching supplier.