Bill 132: Electric Utility Capital Accountability and Transmission Competition Act

This bill primarily affects Nova Scotia Power (the province's main regulated electric utility) and any independent developers or infrastructure companies that might bid on large transmission projects. For the utility, day-to-day capital planning and rate applications will now require detailed disclosure of how each project is financed, and the allowed profit margin can be clawed back if the utility uses more equity than regulators approved. For third-party transmission developers — think electrical engineering firms, energy infrastructure companies, or independent power producers — the bill opens up a new competitive bidding market for transmission jobs worth over $50 million, which previously would have gone automatically to the incumbent utility. The size of the affected businesses ranges from Nova Scotia Power itself down to smaller firms that could realistically bid on major grid infrastructure contracts.