Electrical

The Town of Antigonish is the largest of six municipally owned and operated electric utilities in the province of Nova Scotia, and we:
serve 2800 residential customers and over 500 commercial customers in the Town and surrounding area, known as the fringe.
have gross revenues in excess of $9,000,000 from sales of more than 100,000,000 kilowatt hours.
presently buy 100% of our power from Nova Scotia Power.

Rates
Our most recent rates can be found here.

Service Connections
Before you can be connected for service you must sign a contract. Contracts can be picked up at the Town Hall on Main Street, or e-mail us and we will send you a copy. We must have a signed copy on hand prior to connecting your service. Most connects can usually be done the same day as requested, but for safety's sake, allow 3 days. In most cases you will be required to make a security deposit equal to 3 months estimated usage before connection will take place.

Service Disconnections
Moving? You can phone us in advance, give us a forwarding address and the date you would like the power disconnected and we'll do the rest.

Building a new house?
Most people don't consider underground service from the pole to their home. It makes for a neater looking property, ask us about it!

Payment of Accounts
Our bills are due 30 days from bill date. Accounts over 30 days bear interest at 1.5% per month.
You can pay your bill using on-line banking, telephone banking, cash, cheque or debit card. No credit cards, sorry for any inconvenience.

Electric Energy Conservation & Efficiency
If you are a customer of The Town of Antigonish Electric Utility, did you know that you are eligible to participate in Nova Scotia Power's energy conservation and efficiency programs?
To find out which programs can help you save electricity visit NSPI's Website or call 1-800-428-6230.

LED Street Lighting Pilot Project
The Town of Antigonish is a participant in a LED street lighting project. The Town has received 60 LED street lights from an Amherst company, LED Roadway Lighting, for installation within the Town. The areas chosen for the install are:
West Street- 10 Lights, Highland Drive- 13 Lights, Hawthorne St- 30 Lights Church St- 7 Lights
Both the Town and LED Roadway Lighting are interested in your thoughts and opinions related to the LED Street lights.
Feel free to drop us a line, phone us or email us at lights@townofantigonish.ca and tell us what you think.

A Little History
The Town's utility was formed under an act of Nova Scotia in 1924. The total cost of set up was $60,000, this included 2 small generators. It was formed, as were many municipal utilities, as a direct result of rates for power and quality of service being poor. The provider at the time was Antigonish Light and Power Co. Ltd. and at that time was providing street lighting services. The Town was in the process of building new streets and approached Antigonish Light and Power for quotes. The Town was distraught at the proposed average price of a whopping $0.08 per Kwh for power. Note that our current price per Kwh, some 80 years later, is less than $0.07. After discussions with the then PUB and what was referred to in minutes as the Nova Scotia Power Commission, the town embarked on a system of self supply through two 60 hp generators, as this was seen to be cheaper than a proposed Hydro development in James River Falls.

Over the next 10 years as the system grew, The Town utility opted to purchase its power (at less than $0.02 per kwh) from a Thorburn generation station on what appears to have been a Town built line. Also during that time, the then Nova Scotia Power Commission began to purchase power from the Town and ran lines from the Antigonish system to St Andrews, Pomquet, Heatherton and Merigomish. In short time, and as NSPC ran more and more lines from the Town system to areas in the County, a "loop" was built to circumvent the Town and in theory remove stress from Town lines. This "loop", which still exists around the Town, was built by the Town but eventually sold to NSPC.

In 1934 (the earliest formal records available at Town Hall),10 years after its formation, the Town Utility sold over 336,000 Kwh of power for a total revenue of over $25,000. In 2004, the Town utility sold almost 90,000,000 Kwh for a Total revenue in excess of $7,000,000.