A provincial tribunal has been called in to help some Cowie Hill condominium owners and Nova Scotia Power bury a connection dispute.

About 400 condominium owners in Ridgevalley Road area have been feuding with the utility for a couple of years about the future of a 30-year-old underground service connection.

NSP wants them to either pay to replace it or opt for something cheaper.

"We've paid a premium for this service on our power bills for all these years - now they're telling us we're going to lose it and power poles will be put in," resident Carol Feener said.

"It makes no sense. What a ridiculous thing to to."

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board is investigating a complaint against NSP by the Cowie Hill residents.

A two-day hearing was to begin in March, but on Tuesday the board said it will be rescheduled.

"The benefits of the underground service were demonstrated during hurricane Juan," Ms. Feener said.

"Our power was out only for a few hours, while it was out for days all around us."

There are no overhead wires in the neighbourhood, mostly made up of townhouse-style condominiums and some apartment buildings.

Electrical and communications wires are all underground.

It is a preferred level of service, according to NSP spokeswoman Margaret Murphy.

"We're not disputing the superiority of the connection," she said. "The dispute is over who will pay for it."

The service is due for replacement, and talks on the issue have dragged on for more than two years.

"You reach a point where you can no longer use Band-Aid solutions," Ms. Murphy said. "The system needs to be replaced."

She said the utility believes the board will hand down a decision similar to others in the past involving service upgrades.

"We are obliged to provide a basic level of service," Ms. Murphy said. "We are certainly happy to provide customers with underground service, but they have to pay for it."

Nova Scotia Power has given the Cowie Hill residents three options: pay for complete replacement of the underground system; pay less for a hybrid combination system; or pay nothing for an above-ground system at no additional cost.

"Replacing the underground service would cost about $3.5 million . . . about $6,600 per unit," Ms. Murphy said.

She said replacing the underground service with above-ground poles and wires would cost about $900,000, but NSP would foot the bill.

"Installing underground services in Nova Scotia can be three to eight times more expensive than similar connections in other provinces, due to the prevalence of bedrock."