The Nova Scotia Energy Board has approved Nova Scotia Power’s application to raise rates, but not by as much as the company wanted.

The utility applied last fall to raise residential rates 8.1 per cent over the course of 2026 and 2027 to cover its operating requirements and a nine per cent return on equity for shareholders.

In a decision released Wednesday, the board ordered several cutbacks to the company’s proposed revenue, but allowed it to maintain its profit structure.

Nova Scotia Power will have to make the ordered adjustments and report back with new rates. The board says it expects the residential rate increase will be “slightly lower” than what was originally proposed, but it does not provide a number.

The 309-page decision follows a public hearing earlier this year. 

The consumer advocate and representatives for other customer classes all signed off on the proposal in a settlement agreement before Nova Scotia Power made its application.

The board says the settlement agreement contained “many terms that are appropriate and should be adopted.” But the adjustments it has ordered “are necessary in the public interest.”

The board notes that electricity rates are challenging for many customers and any increase will be difficult for people on low or fixed incomes, but it notes that it does not have the authority to make any concession for affordability.

“The Board’s regulatory power under the Public Utilities Act is not an instrument of social policy,” the decision says.

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