Company to charge $2 more a month to fund conservation programs
NOVA SCOTIANS will have to dig deeper in their pocketbooks to pay their power bills with the rollout of almost $42 million in energy conservation programs in 2011, according to a proposed plan released by Nova Scotia Power on Friday.
Under the proposal, the company’s 440,000 residential customers will pay $4 a month to the fund the programs, an increase of $2 per month, said Alan Richardson, vice-president of Nova Scotia Power’s customer service.
The utility is seeking approval of its proposal from the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board. If successful, Nova Scotia Power’s energy conservation budget would increase to $41.9 million next year from $22.6 million in 2010.
"The whole plan since the beginning was to ramp up the amount of energy conservation and efficiency that we’re doing," Richardson said. "The reason that is a good idea is because, along with renewable (energy), it’s the most cost effective way to meet our efficiency needs."
Richardson said spending nearly $42 million on conservation programs would translate into 158.5 million kilowatt hours of energy savings per year.
The utility also released the results from the programs that helped consumers save electricity in 2008 and 2009.
"We actually exceeded the energy savings targets that we set for ourselves for that 18 months of programming," Richardson said.
The utility’s aim was to save 66 million kilowatt hours, but it actually saved 85 million kilowatt hours as a result of the conservation programs — enough to power 9,500 homes, he said.
"Nova Scotians and businesses are stepping up to participate and make big changes to make themselves more energy efficient and I think this is a really positive thing that this is continuing to grow."
Nova Scotia Power has said the implementation of the energy conservation programs, such as offering energy-efficient light bulbs, will mean it will not have to build a new coal-fired plant to generate electricity.
One of the most successful programs has been the small business lighting retrofit, he said. Offered in Dartmouth and Pictou, it will be expanded to more areas of the province if the proposal is approved.
The utility will transfer the implementation of the conservation programs to a newly established government agency called Efficiency Nova Scotia Corp. later this year.
Residential customers in Nova Scotia have seen their power bills go up by about 30 per cent in the past nine years. In June, the review board approved a residential power rate increase of 0.193 cents per kilowatt hour to fund energy conservation programs. Then on Nov. 13, Nova Scotia Power applied to reduce rates by 0.192 cents per kilowatt hour because of lower fuel costs.
A public hearing into the proposed conservation plan has been scheduled for April 19 at the board’s office in downtown Halifax. A separate hearing will be held in October 2010 into how much each customer class will pay for the programs.
No comments:
Post a Comment