An association representing Saskatchewan municipalities says the province’s new net metering program could have a negative impact on communities turning to green energy.
The Saskatchewan government said a new net metering program will be in place on Nov. 1.
It does not have a rebate plan for equipment or installation costs and excessive power will be credited at 7.5 cents per kilowatt hour.
The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) said this will impact communities looking to deal with climate change using alternative energy sources.
“Saskatchewan hometowns have embraced a leadership role in adopting reduction strategies, and this includes using alternative energy sources to power municipal facilities,” SUMA president Gordon Barnhart said Thursday in a statement.
“By eliminating rebates for installation costs and reducing credits for excessive power, municipalities will face higher costs for green energy infrastructure, limiting innovation.”
The previous provincial program provided rebates of up to $20,000 and 14 cents per kilowatt hour for excessive power.
Environment Minister Dustin Duncan previously said the 7.5 cents is the approximate generation cost for a kilowatt hour and the money that net metering customers will no longer get credit for will go towards upkeep on the province’s power grid.
“That energy charge includes the distribution and transmission charge in it. Essentially, somebody else has to pay for that. So that’s the challenge that we have,” Duncan said on Oct. 15.
“That’s still a cost to SaskPower and SaskPower’s customers. So we want to ensure that we’re being fair and we’re not shifting that burden to people that just cannot afford solar panels.”
SUMA said it realizes there is a cost to SaskPower to maintain infrastructure, but the new program has the potential to reduce the number of clean energy projects.
“The combined changes to rebates and excess power credits significantly increase the time required to recoup municipal investments in alternative energy projects,” SUMA said.
“A reduction in the number of projects is a missed opportunity for clean energy that could help SaskPower meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.”
Barnhart said SUMA has met with Duncan and SaskPower and understands the need to balance the books, but said the move feels like a double whammy to communities looking to use solar energy.
“Not only in terms of the subsidy being gone, but just the fact that net metering is half the rate of what it used to be,” Barnhart said.
“The one approach was costly to the government, now it is very much the other way. Perhaps there is a middle ground that could be reached.”
In a statement, the province said the program wasn’t designed with municipal projects in mind.
“It was designed for customers to reduce the amount of power purchased from SaskPower when they generate their own. The new net metering program will ensure rates remain affordable,” the statement read.
The net metering program is commonly associated with rooftop solar power, but is also available for residential and/or business hydro, flare gas, biomass, biogas and heat recovery customers.
The previous net metering program was shut down by the provincial government in September 2019 after it said the program had reached its 16-megawatt cap.
—With files from David Baxter and Daniella Ponticelli
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