The head of Nova Scotia’s electrical utility is defending a proposal to charge fees to customers who sell renewable power back to the grid, a plan critics say will gut the province’s burgeoning solar industry.
Nova Scotia Power president and CEO Peter Gregg says without the fee, homeowners who generate their own electricity using solar panels are currently being subsidized by other customers.
He says the monthly fee for people who sell excess power back to the system will ensure fairness for all customers.
Nova Scotia Power, a subsidiary of Emera Inc., applied to the provincial regulator last week to charge solar customers about $8 per kilowatt of electricity.
It amounts to roughly $960 a year for a typical 10-kilowatt photovoltaic solar installation, which generates about $1,800 in annual revenue – doubling the time needed to earn back the cost of installing the system.
Critics say the proposed fee could wipe out the province’s emerging solar industry.
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