The province plans to put a stop to solar charges proposed by Nova Scotia Power.
Premier Tim Houston sent a letter to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board on Wednesday to advise of the government’s intention to bring forward regulations to prevent the move.
Houston says any changes to the program should not discourage Nova Scotians from making the switch to solar or interfere with the province’s environmental goals.
“We agree that it is time for changes to the enhanced net-metering program but the changes we seek will support the greening of the grid, not discourage it,” Houston says in a news release.
“Our government will bring forward the necessary legislative and regulatory framework that will protect ratepayers and the solar industry in Nova Scotia and help achieve our environment and climate change reduction goals.”
Nova Scotia Power announced on Tuesday it would delay its proposal to charge homes and businesses with solar panels by one year.
CEO Peter Gregg said it would take effect on February 1st, 2023 if approved.
The proposed “net metering” charge was filed last week with the NSUARB. The plan was to charge solar users $8 per kW of “installed capacity.”
The advocacy group Solar NS estimates the rate would cost residential solar users nearly $1,000 per year more in their bills. Critics warned it could devastate the growing solar industry.
Gregg explained regular customers have been subsidizing solar and that’s why they applied to charge them.
“We regret that there weren’t more conversations with the solar industry ahead of the filing and that they were caught off guard by the proposed changes,” Gregg said in a news release.
The province’s intervention will bring a halt to that plan, preserving the enhanced net-metering program as it was on January 26th.
The framework will be brought into force before the conclusion of the general rate application proceeding at the NSUARB, according to the news release.
“We have come too far in our fight against climate change and expanding access to renewable energy to risk that progress,” says Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton. “The changes we will bring forward will stop the proposed system access charge in its tracks today and provide certainty for our solar industry and rate-paying families investing in solar.”
The government also plans to introduce additional measures to help grow the solar industry in Nova Scotia and make it more accessible for residents, including renters, small businesses, and marginalized communities.
The province has committed to 80 per cent of Nova Scotia’s electricity being supplied by renewable energy by 2030.
