Scotia to help provide Sustainable Renewable Energy products and services for all Bluenosers it should not have been a surprise when the government of Nova Scotia jumped in when the head of Nova Scotia’s electrical utility announced a “System Access Charge” for customers using solar power and feeding the pro- vincial power grid. Not only did Peter Gregg, President and CEO of Nova Scotia Power announce the upcoming change to net metering customers, but he also started defending the proposal to charge fees back to customers who sell renewable power back to the grid, going on a campaign to pit Nova Scotia Power customers against one another by saying that homeowners who generate their own electricity using solar panels are currently being subsidized by other customers and for this they should pay a monthly fee to sell their excess power back to the system to ensure fairness for all customers. For those of our readers that are not familiar with solar or net metering contracts, we thought we would make this simple. Have you ever made pizza night at your house and invite friends over to share a slice or two? Sure, you have, we all have, right? You go to the store you pick up the ingredients, you get the dough ready, chop up the toppings and heat up the oven. Put the pizza in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes and then it is time to eat. Imagine right after you finished the dishes you get a call from one of the large pizza chains wanting $10 because you didn’t order the pizza from them but made it on your own and shared it with others using your own money. Well, that is the fee that Nova Scotia Power, a subsidiary of Emera Inc., was applying for to the provincial regulator. They are looking to charge solar customers about $8 per kilowatt of electricity. This
THE NOVA SCOTIA SOLAR INDUSTRY NO ONE SHOULD HAVE A MONOPOLY ON THE SUN’S POWER
by Ryan Myson
W hat had started as a campaign by Nova Scotia Power and their President and CEO Peter Gregg to put one customer against the other has backfired and created a strong movement of Bluenosers calling for more accountability and transparency from NSP and its parent company Emera. Many Nova Scotian’s are asking for the government to even consid- ered taking back reins and control of the utility stating that no private for profit company should have a monopoly on the province’s energy, and use its power to bully customers, especially ones that harvested energy from the wind and the sun and feed the grid at the customer’s own expense.
Premier Tim Houston pledged to get Nova Scotia to 80 percent renewable energy by 2030, but most questioned if this would or could be done in a province that relies so heavily on coal for its electricity needs. Well, this pledge met it’s first hurtle since the Progressive Conservative gov- ernment took power and Premier Tim Houston handed his government’s mandate outlining the focus for the new Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Tim Halman on September 14, 2021 which included a commitment to 80 percent of the electricity needs of the province being supplied by renewable energy by 2030. Given such an aggressive mandate by the govern- ment and a call to actively encourage innovative, green and sustainability focused businesses in the province and those looking to come to Nova
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022
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