Topic/Matter Intersection

Topic:"Disconnection Procedures" in M12647

Matter: Nova Scotia Power Inc. - 2025 Consumer Advocate / Affordable Energy Coalition Low-Income Working Group Report
16 passages 2 documents

Disconnection Procedures across all matters →

N-1Report 15 passages
2.6 Current Situation Post-Cyber Incident As noted above, NS Power has not been charging late fees since April 25, 2025 and collection activity was paused for several months. NS Power will not disconnect any residential customers in 2025. Although there has been improvement in some accounts with elevated risk, balances for remaining customers continue to increase. There has been an adjustment to the HARP program, which now provides up to $400 in funding for eligible customers. NS Power's aim is to help customers manage their balances and stop the arrears from growing. Collection outreach to customers has resumed, and the focus is on helping customers rather than on disconnecting service. Customers are provided with information about the availability of 12- month and 24-month payment plans. NS Power will continue to support the Salvation Army HARP fund. It will also support the HEAT fund in 2026 by contributing $300,000. The Grassroot Grants launch will also provide funding for community projects and initiatives. NS Power has a customer-first approach to dealing with customers in arrears. Disconnection is always the last and least desirable option. Following on the success of the disconnection reduction pilot in 2024, NS Power will continue its reminder communications to customers whose accounts are in danger of being disconnected for non-payment in 2026. The new approach to customers in danger of disconnection in 2024 resulted in a 44 percent decrease in disconnections. The percentage of customers in arrears has decreased from 4.5 percent to 4.1 percent, largely as a result of the customer-first focus. These outreach communications offer help to customers and encourage them to contact NS Power to discuss available options. The Working Group will explore other potential options in 2026 such as community events and support programs which can assist low-income customers. p. pp. 8-9
2.6 Current Situation Post-Cyber Incident As noted above, NS Power has not been charging late fees since April 25, 2025 and collection activity was paused for several months. NS Power will not disconnect any residential customers in 2025....

AI summary NS Power has paused late fees and collection activity since April 2025, with no residential disconnections planned in 2025. The HARP program was adjusted to provide up to $400 in funding. NS Power is focusing on helping customers manage arrears, offering payment plans and supporting funds like HARP and HEAT. A customer-first approach reduced disconnections by 44% in 2024.

2.7.2 Arrears Trending with Regional Detail p. p. 10
November to a high of 4.94 percent in May. The average arrears per account ranged from $429 to $535, but most of the accounts were in arrears for a period of 120 days or more. At the prior request of the Working Group participants, NS Powe...

AI summary The text discusses trends in arrears by service depot in Nova Scotia, highlighting locations with the highest risk of arrears and noting that risk is not correlated with rural or urban siting. It also outlines collection actions taken by NS Power, including notices and disconnection procedures.

1 Figure 1 – Number and Percentage of Disconnections by Region - 2024 p. p. 10
1 Figure 1 – Number and Percentage of Disconnections by Region - 2024 Location Number of Customers with Elevated Risk of Disconnection Number of Disconnections Percentage of Elevated Risk Customers Disconnected Average Arrears (Dollars) In...

AI summary Figure 1 presents data on the number and percentage of disconnections by region in Nova Scotia for 2024, highlighting the distribution of disconnections across various locations and the average arrears per customer. The data shows that disconnection rates vary significantly by region, with some areas experiencing higher disconnection percentages despite having fewer customers at risk.

Disconnect for Non-Pay with Regional Detail p. pp. 20-21
Disconnect for Non-Pay with Regional Detail • Disconnection activity on residential accounts continues to skew toward areas with elevated risk. For example, 23% of 2024 disconnects have been in Cape Breton where 15% of our customer account...

AI summary Residential disconnections in Nova Scotia are concentrated in high-risk areas, such as Cape Breton, where 23% of 2024 disconnects occurred despite only 15% of customer accounts. Disconnection activity has paused in 2024 due to expected cooler temperatures.

Piloting Additional Effort to Reduce Disconnects p. pp. 21-22
Piloting Additional Effort to Reduce Disconnects - In 2024, NSPI has initiated a pilot to further reduce disconnections; in addition to the robust communication that would precede a disconnection, NSPI has started piloting an auto-campaign...

AI summary NSPI has initiated a pilot program in 2024 to reduce disconnections by contacting customers 3 days before scheduled disconnections. The pilot successfully averted 61.3% of disconnections during the winter, and total disconnects for nonpayment remained below 2023 levels despite higher accounts in arrears.

Disconnect for Non-Pay – Historical View (2014-present) p. pp. 26-27
Disconnect for Non-Pay – Historical View (2014-present) - From 2014, when enhanced customer-centric Collections strategies were first fully deployed, Disconnects for Non-Payment have shown a steadily decreasing trend through 2019; - A chan...

AI summary From 2014 to 2019, disconnects for non-payment decreased steadily with enhanced customer-centric collections strategies. During the pandemic, the strategy changed, leading to lower disconnects in 2020-2021. Fiona's impact paused related activities in 2022, but 2023 saw a return to 2015 levels. 2024 disconnects have further decreased due to the initiative on slide 6.

Agenda p. pp. 29-30
Agenda - 1. Discussion around Billing Questions / Meter Accuracy - o Smart Meters & Billing Accuracy next slide. - 2. Late Fee Relief - o Awaiting insight from the board. - 3. Community Grants - o Updates coming late April / May. - 4. Revi...

AI summary The agenda covers billing accuracy, late fee relief, community grants, payment plans, disconnections for non-payment, and a community solar program aimed at low-income customers. Nova Scotia Power discusses efforts to minimize disconnections and the structure of the solar energy credit.

Nova Scotia Power continues to work closely with customers in arrears p. pp. 37-38
Nova Scotia Power continues to work closely with customers in arrears - Disconnections continue to be paused due to temperature considerations but remain a last resort and a small and diminishing percentage of the formal collections action...

AI summary Nova Scotia Power is managing customer arrears through payment arrangements and paused disconnections due to temperature considerations, with disconnections remaining a last resort. The percentage of disconnections has decreased from 3.9% in 2023 to 2.3% in 2024.

Equal-Billed Payment Plans with Regional Detail p. pp. 39-40
Equal-Billed Payment Plans with Regional Detail - The majority of payment arrangements have shown to be largely successful over time, with ~8.2% of plans disconnected due to non-payment since 2014; (note: plans within the last 12 or 24 mon...

AI summary Equal-Billed Payment Plans have been largely successful, with approximately 8.2% of plans disconnected due to non-payment since 2014. However, 24-month plans have higher failure rates (14.0%) compared to 12-month plans (6.7%) due to increased arrears aging and associated risks.

Disconnect for Non-Pay with Regional Detail p. pp. 42-43
Disconnect for Non-Pay with Regional Detail • Disconnection activity remains paused due to cooler temperatures. The final 2024 view is shown here, where disconnections skewed toward areas with elevated risk. For example, 23% of 2024 discon...

AI summary Disconnection activity remains paused due to cooler temperatures, with 2024 data showing a higher concentration of disconnects in Cape Breton, which accounts for 15% of customer accounts but saw 23% of disconnects.

Piloting Additional Effort to Reduce Disconnects p. pp. 43-44
Piloting Additional Effort to Reduce Disconnects - Disconnects remain paused due to cooler temperatures. - Results of the pilot to layer in additional communication with customers 3 days before a scheduled disconnect is shown below. - Whil...

AI summary A pilot program to reduce electricity disconnects through additional customer communication before scheduled disconnection was successful, averting 61% of disconnects. The program will continue in 2025 with close monitoring of payment arrangements.

Disconnect for Non-Pay – Historical View (2014-present) p. pp. 44-46
Disconnect for Non-Pay – Historical View (2014-present) - From 2014, when enhanced customer-centric Collections strategies were first fully deployed, Disconnects for Non-Payment have shown a steadily decreasing trend through 2019; - A chan...

AI summary From 2014 to 2019, disconnects for non-payment steadily decreased due to enhanced customer-centric collection strategies. During the pandemic, changes in collection strategies and government support further reduced disconnects from 2020 to 2022. The impact of Hurricane Fiona paused related activities in 2022, but 2023 disconnects returned to 2015 levels. In 2024, the implementation of a 3-day notice on scheduled disconnects led to a further decrease.

Nova Scotia Power continues to work closely with customers in arrears p. pp. 56-57
Nova Scotia Power continues to work closely with customers in arrears - Collection actions remain mostly paused following the identification of a cyber incident in April. - Historical results show disconnection remains a last resort, and a...

AI summary Nova Scotia Power is working with customers in arrears, with collection actions paused due to a cyber incident. Disconnection is a last resort, with a decreasing percentage of formal collections actions. Efforts are made to support customers through payment arrangements before disconnection.

Disconnect for Non-Pay with Regional Detail p. pp. 60-61
Disconnect for Non-Pay with Regional Detail • Disconnection activity remains paused in 2025. The final 2024 view is shown here, where disconnections skewed toward areas with elevated risk. For example, 23% of 2024 disconnects have been in...

AI summary Disconnection activity for non-payment remains paused in 2025, with 2024 data showing a higher concentration of disconnections in Cape Breton, despite it having only 15% of customer accounts.

Piloting Additional Effort to Reduce Disconnects p. pp. 61-62
Piloting Additional Effort to Reduce Disconnects - Disconnects remain paused due to cooler temperatures. - Results of the pilot to layer in additional communication with customers 3 days before a scheduled disconnect is shown below. - Whil...

AI summary The pilot program to reduce disconnects by adding communication with customers three days before a scheduled disconnect was successful, preventing 61% of scheduled disconnects. The initiative will continue in 2025 with close monitoring of payment arrangements.

100788Board Letter re: Accepted as filed 1 passage
Section 2 p. p. 0
ast one payment; - disconnection risk by region is highest in Metro, followed by Cape Breton; and - the HEAT Funds were depleted earlier in 2025, even though funding for this program increased by 50%. NS Power proposed a pilot program to w...

AI summary NS Power proposed a pilot program to waive interest charges for customers in arrears receiving financial support from charities, which was approved by the Board in Matter M12171. A community grant program was also discussed, and concerns about smart meter accuracy and bill generation were addressed by NS Power.

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