A Nova Scotia man says he received quite a shock when he opened his power bill, despite having lost power for a week when post-tropical storm Arthur hit the region in July.

“It was quite a bit higher actually, it was comparable to winter usage,” says Yarmouth County resident Brent Surette.

Surette says the bill is for the past two months and covers the week he was without power. Baffled, he called Nova Scotia Power to inquire about his bill.

“I am finding the customer support hasn’t been what I expect and I know some of my colleagues have experienced some of the same difficulties and it’s sort of like, this is what it is and it is too bad,” he says.

One of Surette’s coworkers expressed similar concerns. Denise Bourque says her last bill was roughly $100 higher than normal.

“When I looked at the amount of kilowattage, there was an increase, which doesn’t make sense to me for the simple fact I had lost power for five days,” says Bourque.

Both Surette and Bourque say independent calls to Nova Scotia Power have left them with more questions than answers.

So far, no one has been able to explain why their bills are showing a significant increase, but Nova Scotia Power issued the following statement to CTV News on Tuesday:

“Our energy advisors working in the call centre can work directly with customers to discuss their specific situation, identify any reasons for the variables they may be seeing on their bills, and how they can manage anything that gets identified,” said spokesperson Neera Ritcey.

Nova Scotia Power has an internal procedure for handling such complaints, which are reviewed by a dispute resolution officer. If the ratepayer isn’t satisfied with the outcome, they have 12 days to appeal the decision to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

The utility also says an employee is sent out to read a customer’s metre if that customer is concerned about his or her bill.

Surette and Bourque say no one has been out to check their metres and Surette says a downed tree actually ripped the metre off his home during the storm. He says he was told that wouldn’t have affected the metre. Both plan to follow up with the power company.

“Like I said, I was frustrated, and I thought I’ll just have to pay the bill,” says Bourque. “But now, having talked to others that have experienced the same thing, I think it’s important that I do call back and have this discussion because I am not alone in this.”

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl