Donations Pour In For Advocates Challenging NS Power’s Proposed Solar Charges
HALIFAX–A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $25,000 for legal representation for Solar NS and its corporate partners to present to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.
Chair of Solar NS, Dave Brushett, started the fundraising campaign to ensure small solar installation businesses have the legal representation they need to go toe-to-toe with Nova Scotia Power.
Solar NS will appear before the board as an intervenor to push back against Nova Scotia Power’s proposed charge of $8 per kilowatt per month for solar energy users participating in the net-metering program. The net-metering program allows solar users to store excess power generated by their systems on the power company’s grid.
Nova Scotia Power’s application is ringing alarm bells within the province’s solar industry. In a recent interview, Brushett told Acadia news solar panel sellers and installers have been contacting him to express their concerns. He says some have already lost business.
One local company already lost a $125,000 commercial contract due to the uncertainty caused by NS Power’s rate application, says Brushett.
“This is going to have a hugely negative impact on solar businesses. The industry has grown a lot in the last number of years. We have over 40 corporate members who are mostly installers and small business owners,” he said in an interview with Acadia News.
“We’re hearing they’re devastated; they’re having orders cancelled already. This could be a fatal blow to their businesses, and it may result in layoffs.”
RELATED: Solar Advocate Says N.S. Power Proposal Will Cripple Solar Industry
Nova Scotia Power has argued that net-metering customers are benefiting from a system they don’t pay into.
A typical 10 kW solar system generates $1760 of electricity per year, Brushett says. Nova Scotia Power’s proposal would see net-metering solar users paying the power company $960 per year to access the grid.
Nova Scotia’s Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton told Huddle he is “disappointed” and “frustrated” with the Nova Scotia Power’s proposal.
“We’re disappointed at this proposal by Nova Scotia Power and… We’ve heard what Nova Scotians and the solar industry have said about the immediate and serious impacts this net-metering charge will have,” he wrote in an email.
“We’re frustrated that NS Power has made a proposal that can hinder the progress we’ve been making to advance our climate change goals.”
RELATED: Natural Resources Minister ‘Dissapointed’ And ‘Frustrated’ By NS Power
Anastasia Payne is a reporter with CKBW in Bridgewater, a Huddle content partner. WIth files from Derek Montague.