A GoFundMe campaign has raised over $25,000 for legal representation for Solar NS and its corporate partners in front of the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.
Chair of Solar NS, Dave Brushett, started the fundraising campaign to ensure small solar installation businesses have the legal representation they need to go toe-to-toe with Nova Scotia Power.
Solar NS will appear before the board as an intervenor to push back against Nova Scotia Power’s proposed charge of $8 per kilowatt per month for solar energy users participating in the net-metering program. The net-metering program allows solar users to store excess power generated by their systems on the power company’s grid.
If approved, the charge will drop demand and devastate the sector, Brushett says.
“There’s hundred of Nova Scotia jobs at stake,” he said in an interview. “It’s a really a huge blow to the industry.”
Nova Scotia Power has argued that net-metering customers are benefiting from a system which they don’t pay into.
A typical 10 kW solar system generates $1760 of electricity per year, Brushett says. Nova Scotia Power’s proposal would see net-metering solar users paying the power company $960 per year to access the grid.
We have now raised almost $20,000 that will be used to stand up for the solar industry in Nova Scotia. We will be discussing the concerns of our members with @nspowerinc CEO Peter Gregg today. We will be communicating our resolve to ensure a bright future for the solar in NS. https://t.co/wGxP0p79fY
— Solar Nova Scotia (@SolarNS) January 31, 2022
