Emera Is About To Lose Power Over N.S. Solar Customers
HALIFAX-The Nova Scotia government is proposing amendments to the Electricity Act that will wrestle away Nova Scotia Power’s control over solar customers who use the net metering program.
Should the legislation pass, as it is expected to, the utility company will not be able to introduce new fees or charges that would “discourage residential and small business customers from switching to solar power generation.
The net metering program can be used for a series of renewable energies, but in Nova Scotia, 95 percent of the 4,000 net-metered customers use solar energy.
The announcement of the new legislation was made April 7 in a press briefing with Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables Tory Rushton.
The legislation comes in response to the outcry and backlash NS Power faced back in January. At the time, the company proposed to the Utilities Review Board a new $8.00 per KW/h charge for solar customers.
RELATED: Province Will Stop Solar Charges Proposed By NS Power
NS Power argued at the time that solar customers still rely on grid electricity when the sun isn’t shining, especially during the peak periods on winter nights. This has regular customers subsidizing solar users during these peak periods.
The power company claims ratepayers will be on the hook to subsidize solar users to the tune of $55-million over the next nine years.
Despite these claims, the public and government argued such new fees would discourage people from switching to renewable energy. Those who work in the solar industry said the threat of new fees hurt the market badly.
NS Power dropped its application following government intervention. The company, however, is still moving forward with its general rate application that will see ratepayers paying 10 percent more over the next three years.
RELATED: NS Power Delays Request For New Solar Fees By A Year
The province’s new legislation would also allow customers the right to generate 27 kW of electricity through the net metering program–a program that the provincial government will now almost fully control.
At an April 7 press briefing, a government spokesperson said NS Power will be responsible for doing safety inspections and meter-reading, but will not have any say in the program itself.
The company will still be relied upon to manage net metering programs for projects that go beyond 27 kWs. The government says such projects have technical complexities that NS Power is best equipped to handle.
The old 100 Kw net-metering limit for commercial users is also coming to an end, to try and encourage larger electricity users to make the switch to renewables.
The government is also reiterating that net metering customers have the right to eliminate their annual power bills completely, should they generate enough of their own solar power (or another renewable).
In those cases, a customer would only pay a $10.83-per-month fee, or pay if they require additional electricity from the grid. The legislation, however, would not allow solar customers to make a profit should they produce a surplus of electricity.
OPINION: Emera’s Cynicism Reveals Why Public Services Should Not Be In Private Hands
The government is also proposing changes to the Public Utilities Act that will punish Nova Scotia Power if they fail to meet yet-to-be-determined performance standards.
These standards, which will be introduced in future legislation, are aimed at areas of common customer complaints like outages, reliability, and response times.
“There’s been many voices ever since this rate application has gone in, and even before that, with outages and concerns with reliability, especially with the rural areas,” said Rushton, in response to a question about public trust in NS Power.
“It’s no hidden evidence that there are concerns about how Nova Scotians are looking at the relationship with Nova Scotia Power. That’s another step we need to improve.”
But if anyone was hoping the province would enact legislation to halt NS Power’s 10 percent increase proposal, they will be disappointed. Rushton did reiterate, however, that the provincial government will act as intervenors during the Utility and Review Board sessions, arguing against a rate increase.
Rushton also spent much of his time touting a new advisory group to create more public accountability with Nova Scotia Power.
Stakeholders will be able to advise the URB on penalties for failing performance standards and have other areas of influence. Rushton insisted that, when this new group is created, it will have the teeth needed to make an impact.
“That’s going to give real Nova Scotians a voice at the table that will impact the rates in Nov Scotia,” he said.
“I don’t want to presuppose what the regulations are going to look like, but we’re suggesting that roundtable is actually going to have influence with the URB.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].