The Clean Energy Transition Must Be Affordable For Atlantic Canadians
Jonathan Alward is the vice-president of policy at the Atlantica Centre for Energy.
The rising cost of living is a top concern for all Atlantic Canadians and many of us are also worried about climate change. Unfortunately, it will likely be costly to tackle climate change, particularly in Atlantic Canada.
For example, Nova Scotia Power is working to phase out electricity generated by coal by 2030, so is NB Power. This “low-hanging fruit” to immediately reduce emissions cannot happen without significant cost increases to ratepayers. The challenge of taking several generating facilities offline and finding cleaner baseload electricity options to replace the coal-fired is expensive.
As a result, NS Power applied for a 10 percent rate increase between 2022 and 2024. Understandably, there has been pushback from political leaders and community advocates, as many residents are already struggling with the rising cost of living.
Growing stack of policies
The requirement to phase out coal and other fossil-burning fuels is just the first in a growing stack of federal policies aimed at accelerating Canada’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. It is the result of the federal government’s proposed Clean Electricity Standard, which may require all utilities to have net-zero electricity production beginning in 2035.
In addition to carbon taxes or cap-and-trade systems that increase fuel taxes each year, there will soon be a Clean Fuel Standard that could lead to higher costs for gasoline and diesel. There is also a policy on the table leading to every new light-duty vehicle sold by 2035 be a zero-emission vehicle.
Maritime provinces are also contemplating how to produce more clean electricity to meet population growth, heat homes and businesses as they transition off fossil fuels, and electrify all these new zero-emission vehicles.
An important national priority but at what cost?
Reaching net zero by 2050 is a national priority and an important one. However, we must question the associated costs of these pancaking policies and whether they are attached to achievable timelines. Fortunately, there are things each of us can do to help this clean energy transition.
We can reduce our own electricity usage and emissions. We can all take steps like turning down our hot water tanks, relying less on clothes dryers, and turning off lights when we leave a room.
We can make our homes more energy efficient and, when available, find alternative, clean options to heat our homes, such as using wood pellets, adding solar, switching to natural gas, or investing in heat pumps. We can also seek out more fuel-efficient vehicles if owning an electric vehicle is not yet possible, and we can drive less or carpool.
Atlantic provinces face unique challenges
For those looking to improve their knowledge about energy and access resources to reduce emissions, read the Atlantica Centre for Energy’s new 2022 Atlantic Canada’s Energy Transition Resource Catalogue.
Reducing our emissions and energy use alone won’t solve our problems.
Governments, utilities, and private industries in the region are trying their best to plan and build for the future with urgency, but the Atlantic provinces face challenges dealing with this transition that others do not. Those include limited access to natural gas as an affordable home heating alternative, and widespread access to hydro to provide clean baseload electricity. These regional differences lead to higher transition costs for Atlantic Canadians.
And, as the cost of living is rising rapidly across the Atlantic region, paying more for clean electricity isn’t a realistic option for many.
Transition must be affordable
Between 37 and 41 percent of households in the Atlantic provinces already experience high home energy cost burdens – double the national average.
The federal government must ensure that national emission reduction policies do not disadvantage Atlantic Canadians because of our unique geographic, demographic, and infrastructure realities.
The Atlantica Centre for Energy is working on new research to help Atlantic Canadians better understand our energy needs for the future and how regional cooperation can make this transition as fast and affordable as possible.
In the meantime, we should collectively send the message to the federal government to recognize our transition to net-zero can be and must be affordable for everyone. These federal policies may need to change to ensure affordability is achieved while we reduce our emissions.
Huddle publishes commentaries from groups and individuals on important business issues facing the Maritimes. These commentaries do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Huddle. To submit a commentary for consideration, contact editor Mark Leger: [email protected]