'It doesn't make any sense': N.S. fire evacuees question high power bills

Some of the Nova Scotia wildfire evacuees are questioning why their recent power bills are higher than this time last year, when there was no power to their neighbourhoods for days or even weeks.

"It doesn't make any sense," said Aimée Keefe, who's lived in Hammonds Plains most of her life.

"Our Eastlink bill was down, everything else was down, except for power - power went up," she said, noting she was aware an approved rate hike had taken effect, but Nova Scotia Power indicated the family's usage was also up.

"Everything was turned off for two weeks. Our fridge went bad, our freezer went bad. Everything was gone for two weeks and they still say nothing's wrong," said Keefe.

"They say that it's my heat, and I have oil based heating."

She's not alone. Other customers have started complaining on social media.

One told CTV News the utility advised them to get an electrician to check their panel.

When they asked one about it, he laughed at them.

The utility tells CTV News it won't speak publicly about individual cases for privacy reasons.

"Our thoughts are with all of those who had to evacuate, lost a home or business, or experienced damage to their property during the wildfires," said N.S. Power senior communications advisor, Jacqueline Foster via email.

"We continue to work directly with customers on billing questions and supporting them however we can. Our focus is always working with our customers directly so we can answer any questions they may have. We encourage anyone who has questions to reach out to our Customer Care Centre by calling 1-800-428-6230," said Foster.

The utility's conversion to a Smart Meter program was met with suspicion from some of its customers almost from the beginning.

Designed to stream real-time data to the corporation, other power companies have also switched but some customers like Keefe aren't convinced they work as advertised.

"They tell me my Smart Meter is 'smart', and it's not," she said with a laugh.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.