HALIFAX, NS — In its first year in operation, Nova Scotia’s new, not-for-profit independent energy system operator advanced critical and urgent initiatives to keep electricity reliable, decarbonize the province’s grid, and deliver the energy Nova Scotians depend on at the best possible cost, all while rapidly standing up a brand-new organization designed to create value for electricity customers.
Today IESO Nova Scotia released its inaugural annual report, covering the significant progress made throughout the 2025-26 fiscal year toward delivering on its important, legislated mandate under the More Access to Energy Act, to bring competition and independent decision-making to the province’s electricity system for the benefit of Nova Scotians.
“Our first year has been about building an organization with a clear purpose: delivering a secure energy transition at the best possible cost for Nova Scotians,” said Johnny Johnston, President and CEO of IESO Nova Scotia. “I’m proud of the foundations our team has laid. This first annual report is an opportunity to share our progress and demonstrate our strong commitment to transparency. As we look ahead, our focus remains on keeping the lights on, putting customers first and earning trust through delivery.”
In 2025-26, IESO Nova Scotia:
- Built up an organization capable of delivering real value for Nova Scotians, setting up essential governance, financial, regulatory, engineering, technology, communications, and stakeholder engagement functions, setting up a fit-for-purpose workspace, growing to a team of 28 employees, and taking on critical long-term electricity system planning and procurement responsibilities for the province.
- Launched Nova Scotia’s first independently led Integrated Resource Plan, the long-term system planning process that harnesses independent electricity system expertise, engaged industry, policy, and community stakeholder input, and advanced technical modelling to create a roadmap for reliable, sustainable power for the province over next 20 to 30 years at the very best possible cost.
- Secured urgently needed firm, or on-demand, electricity to help Nova Scotia to meet its growing energy demand through an agreement with NB Power for access to 100 megawatts of generation capacity from its Renewable Integration Grid Security (RIGS) project currently in development.
- Designed and refined, with substantial and invaluable stakeholder feedback, a procurement process for the fast-acting generation resources Nova Scotia needs to continue to meet growing electricity demand, enable the phase out coal-fired power generation, drastically reduce the province’s greenhouse gas emissions, and support the transition to an 80% renewable energy grid, all while keeping power dependable for hospitals, businesses, schools, and homes.
- Began building important relationships and opportunities for dialogue with Nova Scotians, including Mi’kmaw communities and organizations, municipal, provincial, and federal government representatives, the Nova Scotia Energy Board (NSEB), consumer advocacy groups, industry participants, major electricity customers, and other important energy sector partners, all of which help to shape the planning, procurement, and operational decisions IESO Nova Scotia makes on behalf of the people of the province.
IESO Nova Scotia ended its inaugural year with its expenses being $344,000 less than its NSEB-approved revenue requirement for the period, demonstrating an early focus on discipline and financial stewardship while the organization rapidly grew.
As with independent system operators in jurisdictions across North America and beyond, the services IESO Nova Scotia provides to the province’s energy system are ultimately paid for by electricity customers. IESO Nova Scotia’s costs are carefully and responsibly budgeted, and must be reviewed and ultimately approved by the NSEB. IESO Nova Scotia’s costs represent a very small percentage of the overall costs to maintain and run the system, which collectively make up electricity rates.
As a not-for-profit organization, IESO Nova Scotia’s $344,000 surplus will result in a downward adjustment on future fees in a subsequent revenue requirement application.
IESO Nova Scotia’s full 2025-26 annual report can be found here.
Quick Facts
- IESO Nova Scotia was created under the provincial More Access to Energy Act to independently plan Nova Scotia’s electricity system, procure new electricity resources, and ultimately operate the province’s transmission grid in the public interest.
- IESO Nova Scotia’s Board of Directors was appointed in February 2025 and the organization’s first employee, President and CEO Johnny Johnston, joined in August 2025. By March 31, 2026, the organization had grown to a team of 28 employees.
- On December 1, 2025, IESO Nova Scotia assumed responsibility from Nova Scotia Power for electricity system planning, transmission planning, interconnections, resource procurement, and execution of the province’s Integrated Resource Plan process.
- IESO Nova Scotia’s full 2025-26 revenue requirement of $5.307 million was approved by the Nova Scotia Energy Board in February 2026. In its first year in operation, IESO Nova Scotia also received $2.675 million in start-up funding from the Government of Nova Scotia and brought in $473,000 in interconnection and interest revenues. The above collective revenues applied to IESO Nova Scotia’s total 2025-26 expenses produced a small surplus of $344,000. This is expected to be deducted from a future revenue requirement application, to the benefit of electricity customers.
- The deficit shown in IESO Nova Scotia’s 2025-26 audited financial statements reflects accounting timing requirements related to IFRS revenue recognition and the absence of an approved enduring fee recovery mechanism at fiscal year-end, not an operating budget overrun.
- Throughout 2025-26, the IESO Nova Scotia team met with well over 100 different community, Mi’kmaw, industry, and regulatory stakeholders, many of them multiple times, and with many more individual Nova Scotians, through everything from boardroom meetings to community office hours to open houses to structured engagement sessions.
- Nova Scotia’s electricity system is expected to transition from approximately 45% renewable electricity today to 80% renewable electricity over the next several years while coal-fired generation, which still accounts for nearly 40% of the province’s generation capacity, is phased out and demand for electricity continues to grow.
About IESO Nova Scotia
IESO Nova Scotia is a not-for-profit created by provincial law to take on electricity system planning and real-time grid operations on behalf of Nova Scotians. IESO Nova Scotia will be responsible for planning for the province’s future energy needs, procuring new electricity generation capacity, and purchasing and dispatching power from producers, including Nova Scotia Power. IESO Nova Scotia is independent of governments, utilities, and power producers, meaning decisions will be driven only by Nova Scotians’ needs. With a mandate to bring transparency and competition to the province’s electricity market, IESO Nova Scotia’s singular focus is to improve reliability, accelerate the transition to renewable energy, and secure the most cost-effective electricity possible for Nova Scotians. IESO Nova Scotia began operations in 2025.
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