Nova Scotia Power asks regulator to approve $6.8M for cybersecurity upgrades

Nova Scotia Power is asking the province's utility regulator for permission to spend $6.8 million to upgrade its cybersecurity.

Portions of the utility's request to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board are redacted, so it isn't known exactly how the money would be spent.

The utility identified 12 sites that would have cybersecurity upgrades under the plan, but the locations are redacted.

A spokesperson for Nova Scotia Power says the program is preventative.

To date, Nova Scotia Power hasn't been subject to the sort of cyberattacks that have been aimed at utilities and other essential services around the world.

But in its annual threat assessment, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security said attacks don't have to be aimed at Nova Scotia to have an impact in the province. The assessment notes that power grids are so interconnected that a disruption elsewhere on the continent could cause problems in Nova Scotia.

Attacks growing more complex

The centre says Russia, China and Iran are among countries committing a lot of resources to cyberattacks, which it says are growing more sophisticated.

Four years ago, Russian hackers were blamed for an attack on the health-care system of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Nova Scotia Power has already allocated some of the money in its request — just over $285,000 for cybersecurity upgrades in 2023 and $1.4 million in 2024. The rest would be used to upgrade security this year and next.

Anyone who wants to make a comment to the UARB on the Nova Scotia Power proposal must do so in writing.

The board is giving people a week to signal whether they want to have input in this decision. The deadline for written submissions is May 14.