What Mahone Bay Electric Utility does (and what Nova Scotia Power does instead)

Mahone Bay is one of five Nova Scotia towns that still run their own electricity utility. Mahone Bay Electric Utility 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 utility that bills you. Its parent is the Town of Mahone Bay. To keep a small utility viable, its operations and staff are shared with the neighbouring Riverport Electric Light Commission from a single office at 493 Main Street, Mahone Bay.

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

Where Mahone Bay Electric Utility delivers power

If your address is inside the Town of Mahone Bay service area, the Town is your distributor. Beyond that boundary on the South Shore, Nova Scotia Power is the wires owner. The Town's footprint covers the harbourfront, the three churches waterfront and the neighbourhoods within the municipal boundary in Lunenburg County.

How Mahone Bay's charges appear on your bill

A residential Mahone Bay Electric Utility bill carries a fixed monthly Base Charge plus a per-kWh Energy Charge, set through the Town'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 Town pays Nova Scotia Power for bulk power plus its own distribution and operating costs.

Contact details

After-hours emergency line
902-543-3251

Outages, downed wires, anything dangerous. For an immediate hazard, call 911 first.
Town office (business hours)
902-624-8327

Town office hours, Monday to Friday (Atlantic time); after-hours emergency line evenings, weekends and holidays

Report a power outage

If your power is out, call the after-hours emergency line at 902-543-3251, staffed evenings, weekends and holidays. The Town's crews handle outages on the local distribution network; if the cause is 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 Mahone Bay Electric Utility. Call 902-624-8327 or visit https://www.townofmahonebay.ca/electric-utility.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 Mahone Bay Electric Utility: the Town 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. If you are moving outside the boundary, you will close the Mahone Bay account and open a new one with Nova Scotia Power at the new address.

Meters, meter reading and accuracy

Mahone Bay Electric Utility owns the meter at your address. If you suspect a fault, request an accuracy test: the Town 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 Town's tariff rate.

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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 Mahone Bay Electric Utility, 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

Mahone Bay Electric Utility answers to Mahone Bay 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 Town directly, you can escalate to the Town's customer service team and, ultimately, to the Nova Scotia Energy Board.

Selectra energy expert answers

Is Mahone Bay Electric Utility owned by Nova Scotia Power?
No. Mahone Bay Electric Utility is owned and run by the Town of Mahone Bay. It operates the local distribution wires inside the town service area and is the utility that bills you. Nova Scotia Power generates the electricity and delivers it wholesale to the Town's network. Two organisations: the Town handles the wires-to-meter side and the bill, Nova Scotia Power supplies the bulk power.

My power is out in Mahone Bay. Which number do I call?
The after-hours emergency line is 902-543-3251, covering evenings, weekends and holidays. If you see a downed live wire or any immediate danger, call 911 first. The Town's crews restore faults on the local distribution network; an upstream transmission fault is handled by Nova Scotia Power.

Does Mahone Bay share its electric utility with another town?
It shares operations, not ownership. Mahone Bay Electric Utility runs its day-to-day work alongside the neighbouring Riverport Electric Light Commission from a single shared office at 493 Main Street in Mahone Bay, pooling staff and crews. Each remains a separate utility with its own service area and rates. Mahone Bay is one of five town-owned electric utilities left in Nova Scotia, alongside Antigonish, Berwick, Lunenburg and Riverport.

Who arranges a new connection in Mahone Bay?
The Town, for any address inside its service area: call 902-624-8327 or visit https://www.townofmahonebay.ca/electric-utility.html. For an address outside the Town's service boundary on the South Shore, Nova Scotia Power is the wires owner.

Can I choose a different electricity supplier in Mahone Bay?
No. Inside the town service area, Mahone Bay Electric Utility is the only entity allowed to distribute and retail electricity, and Nova Scotia has no retail competition. Lowering your bill here means reducing usage, not switching supplier.