Nova Scotia Power CEO Vivek Sood departing after less than a year on the job

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Power Inc. CEO Vivek Sood is leaving his post at the province’s privately owned utility less than a year after taking its top job. 

Sood, a former executive at grocer Sobeys and its parent firm Empire Company Ltd., was a Nova Scotia Power director before he became the Emera Inc. subsidiary’s chief executive in March 2026. The utility said in a news release Tuesday that Sood chose not to renew his contract. 

In a social media post, Sood said he was proud to have restored stability after taking over during the fallout of a March 2025 cyberattack that saw the personal information of more than 370,000 customers accessed by what the utility has said it believes were Russia-based actors. 

The attack spurred multiple investigations, disrupted billing systems for a year and caused many customers to complain about inflated bills much higher than usual. Sood said shortly after taking the job that rebuilding trust with customers was one of his top priorities.   

“There is more work ahead, but I leave knowing Nova Scotia Power has a strong foundation and a talented team to carry it forward,” said Sood. 

He said he can now spend more time on his board work with Halifax’s Saint Mary’s University and the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. 

Nova Scotia Power said Chris Smith, its current executive vice-president of finance and commercial, will take over as permanent CEO on Nov. 2.

Smith is the former president of Nova Scotia natural gas distributor Eastward Energy and a chartered professional accountant. He first joined Nova Scotia Power in 2017, according to his company profile.

The utility declined interview requests for both executives Tuesday.

“Chris is a proven leader who deeply understands the business and the importance of maintaining focus on the priorities ahead,” Emera CEO Scott Balfour said in a statement. 

“That includes supporting the new Nova Scotia Independent Energy System Operator through a complex transition in generation and system planning, while continuing Nova Scotia Power’s work to improve reliability and manage cost impacts for customers.” 

When Sood’s appointment was first announced in February 2026, Premier Tim Houston urged him to change course on a rate hike application that was then before regulators.

“While I wish the new CEO more success than his predecessors, I am concerned this announcement is less about real change and more about deflecting from a long-standing pattern of failure,” said Houston, also the provincial minister of energy, said in a lengthy social media post in February. Houston’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. 

Sood stickhandled the contentious power rate hearing to its conclusion, with a 3.1 per cent price hike going into effect in May 2026 and a 3.9 per cent increase set to hit power bills in January 2027. 

He also oversaw the utility’s regulatory application to refinance nearly $1 billion worth of assets, including several coal plants scheduled to close by 2030. 

If approved, the complicated financial scheme, known as “securitization” could result in a 2.9 per cent surcharge on residential power bills next year. Nova Scotia Power has said lower interest rates from securitization will save customers $265 million over 30 years compared with not using the finance mechanism.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia Power’s Halifax-based parent firm Emera announced earlier this month plans to merge with Calgary’s Canadian Utilities to create a new company worth $72 billion and ranking among North America’s largest utilities. 

The combined utility company will operate under the Emera banner, keeping its public company headquarters in Halifax and corporate and operational offices in Calgary and Edmonton. Post-merger Emera is to serve six million customers spanning various parts of Canada, as well as the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean and Australia.  

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2026.

Companies in this story: (TSX: EMA, TSX: CU)