proposed system access charge for net metering customers of NSP would have cost them roughly $960 a year for a typical 10-kilowatt photovoltaic solar installation, which generates about $1,800 in annual revenue for the utility, thus doubling the time needed to earn back the cost of install- ing the system with current rebates. According to Keith Bilyk of Solar ChoiceMaritimes it was never really confirmed if the fee would be based on what the system could produce or what the system actually produced, as we know that there can be a huge difference when you factor in Maritime weather, like cloudy skies and snow on your panels in the winter months.
Solar Nova Scotia, which is an advocacy group for Businesses and customers using solar product and services criticized this plan and accused the private company of using its monopoly on elec- tricity distribution to oust competition from small-scale renewable systems. However, Gregg was holding to his guns that the proposed new system access charge would contribute to a strong and fair “net metering program” and was a critical part of getting Nova Scotia off coal by 2030. Gregg went on to say, “These are customers who generate their own electricity at their home or business and use (Nova Scotia Power’s) power
lines and infrastruc- ture to put their excess energy on the grid or use power from the grid when they don’t produce enough.” So, they use power like everyone else on the grid does, the only dif- ference is when they are not using it NSP is selling their solar gen- erated power to non solar users. As for cost, the solar customer has to pay out of pocket for special metering, not NSP, plus they do not get any carry over benefits from month to month. So, if they sell more power to NSP than they use, they do not get compensated for added power they have given to other customers on the grid, so I guess that is what they call fair. But I guess Gregg and the board at NSP are just looking out for the share- holders and of course themselves as Gregg’s compensation is $2.4 million before bonuses
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022
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