Firm launching class-action lawsuit against Nova Scotia Power over cyberattack, billing

Class-action lawsuit filed against NS Power over cyberattack.

MacGillivray Injury and Insurance Law says it’s launching a class-action lawsuit against Nova Scotia Power over the utility’s data breach and bill estimations.

“Nova Scotians trusted Nova Scotia Power with their personal information and their money,” said Jamie MacGillivray, founder and chief executive officer of MacGillivray Law, in a statement Friday. “This lawsuit seeks to hold NSP accountable on both fronts.”

MacGillivray Law says it is filing a statement of claim with the Supreme Court on Nova Scotia on Friday.

“Like so many Nova Scotians, I deserve answers about how my information was compromised and whether I’ve been paying more than I should,” said Danielle Fraser, who serves as the representative plaintiff in the action. “I’m proud to stand up for customers across this province.”

The class-action lawsuit has not yet been certified in court.

“We have over 3,000 people at this point who have signed on with us, but we were in an investigative stage until today so we’re filing the action starting today,” MacGillivray.

Cyberbreach and bill estimations

Nova Scotia Power said it first found issues with its system on April 25. It later learned a “threat actor” had gained unauthorized access to parts of its network on or around March 19.

The utility informed customers about the breach in early May.

The stolen information — some of which was published on the dark web — included customers’ social insurance numbers, birth dates and bank account information.

The utility initially reported roughly 277,000 customers were impacted by the cyberattack, but a September report revealed all customers may have been affected.

Nova Scotia Power has offered a free, five-year credit monitoring service for its customers.

Last week, Chris Lanteigne, director of customer care for Nova Scotia Power, said the smart meters that record a customer’s electricity usage are still recording accurate data. However, the utility lost its ability to “talk to the meters” at customers’ homes following the cyberbreach, and meter readers haven’t been able to visit all impacted homes, so roughly 25 per cent of bills are being estimated.

Many customers have complained about higher-than-expected bills in recent months, and Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg apologized for the overestimations at a government committee last week.

“I want to acknowledge and apologize for the concern and disruption this has caused,” said Gregg. “My promise to you is that if we have overestimated your bill, we will fix it. If you have overpaid, we will fix it. And if we make a mistake, we will fix it.”

The utility has said it expects to fully recover from the cyberbreach by early 2026.

Premier calls for official investigation

Meanwhile, Premier Tim Houston is calling on the Nova Scotia Energy Board to launch a formal official investigation into the utility’s billing methodology, its consumer protections, potential penalties and possible financial relief to affected customers.

“Customers should not be paying for NSP’s failures,” Houston said in a letter earlier this week. “The cyberattack was not the fault of Nova Scotians, yet they are bearing the financial consequences of NSP’s operational shortcomings.”

The Energy Board is already conducting its own investigation into the cyberattack. Houston has asked the board to provide a public update on the scope and timeline of its investigation.

Separate from the Energy Board, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has also launched an investigation into the cyberattack.

Houston also suggested in his letter that the overbilling could constitute regulatory fraud, but Nova Scotia Power said the utility is complying with all securities and regulatory laws.

“In spite of everything that has transpired since the initial cyberattack we are working very hard to restore all of our system functionality,” said Nova Scotia Power spokesperson Jacqueline Foster.

“We understand and are sorry for the frustration that our customers are experiencing.”

With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Sean Mott

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