The province’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will end up saving Nova Scotia Power ratepayers money, the deputy energy minister told MLAs on Wednesday.
That’s despite the fact power rates are expected to increase up to two per cent every year to help pay for renewable energy projects.
Murray Coolican was responding to questions from opposition MLAs on Wednesday. He and outgoing deputy environment minister Nancy Vanstone spoke to the standing committee on public accounts about greenhouse gas reduction.
"The least expensive way to produce electricity is to save it, not use it," Coolican said. "As the price of electricity goes up and you’re using less, your overall bill may go down, even though the price of electricity is going up."
The province recently unveiled a plan that would quadruple by 2020 the amount of renewable energy produced from wind, tides, biomass and imported sources.
The amount of electricity generated from renewable sources would increase to 40 per cent from the current amount of 10 to 12 per cent.
Liberal MLA Keith Colwell noted that power users are also paying more on their power bills to help create Efficiency Nova Scotia Corp., which will manage energy efficiency and conservation programs. The new levy will raise $43 million annually to operate the new agency to replace Conserve Nova Scotia.
The new agency was supposed to be in place by this spring, but it has yet to be established.
Colwell expressed skepticism about the targets the province has set on reducing greenhouse gases.
The plan would cut the emissions by at least five megatonnes by 2020, roughly equivalent to taking one million cars off the highway, Colwell said.
"I’ll believe it when I see it, and I hope you exceed it."
After the meeting, Vanstone noted that Nova Scotia Power has already reduced emissions over the past five years.
According to the utility’s website, it produced about 9.7 megatonnes of greenhouse gases in 2008, down from about 10.5 megatonnes in 2004.
Nova Scotia Power will face fines of up to $500,000 if it exceeds the provincial emissions caps, she said.
The transition from coal-fired power to renewable sources comes with a cost, so ratepayers will see their power bills go up at the outset, Vanstone said.
"What would be the impact on price if we kept going without making these changes, without doing more on energy efficiency?"
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