(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Canadian utility Emera Inc. fell the most in more than two years after Nova Scotia’s government proposed rules to cap electricity price hikes.

The owner of Nova Scotia’s biggest electric utility fell as much as 10% in Toronto following a trading halt, before paring losses to close down 4.7% to C$51.68 in Toronto. It was the biggest one-day decline since April 1, 2020.  

Emera is clashing with Nova Scotia’s provincial government on plans to hike electricity prices while Canadians struggle with high inflation. The eastern Canadian province introduced legislation on Wednesday to cap price hikes to a total of 1.8% between now and 2024.

“Our top priority is to keep bills under control while improving the grid,” Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said Wednesday in a post on Twitter. Houston said that Nova Scotia Power, an Emera subsidiary, will return “in full” any excess profits above those approved by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board. “They had asked to keep half,” the premier said.

Emera Chief Executive Officer Scott Balfour said he was “deeply concerned” about the move. The company had initially asked for a 6.8% annual increase for both next year and 2024.

“This proposed legislation imposes a limit on the investments NS Power planned to make for the benefit of customers over the next two years,” Balfour said in a statement, adding that Emera hadn’t asked the province’s utility regulator for a rate revision in a decade.

The company said the legislation would hamper planned grid improvements and pointed to Hurricane Fiona, which knocked out power in the province last month as it swept through Atlantic Canada.

(Updates with closing price)

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