Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve heard in this House and we’ve heard from the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, there’s a lot of green initiatives out there, a lot of energy initiatives, but most importantly, solar. We keep hearing about solar and getting people to think about adding solar panels to their houses and really take that step forward in the 21st Century to be energy smart.
My question will be for the ENR Minister in terms of solar panels pertaining to net metering. Can the Minister explain to the House what is meant by the term net metering? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What is in place in the Northwest Territories, we initially looked at net metering and we are going to review this. We ended up with what’s called net billing. The basic intent of both those initiatives is to recognize that as people put in their own sources of power supply, the ability to put power back into the grid and get some compensation for creating that extra energy and flowing it back into the grid. Thank you.
Again, this is a great initiative. I think what we’re going to need to find out in the House here is, what exactly is this so-called incentive of putting power back into the so-called grid with a net metre? Can the Minister indicate how much money, if I was to make this large investment, $30,000 to put solar panels onto my house and I want to put power back into the grid, how much money am I going to get per kilowatt hour by putting that in? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It would be in the range, probably slightly more than what we would wholesale the price of power. For example, NTPC wholesales power to Northlands for about eight cents a kilowatt. It would be slightly more than that.
The Minister is right; we would actually be paid back. So I do this great investment, I’m spending all this money and I’m actually getting back, by putting power back in the grid by net metering, the Member says eight cents. I believe that number is probably closer to 13 cents per kilowatt. I know we pay a lot more per kilowatt hour. Many other jurisdictions in Canada and around the world have regulations where they pay back to those people who do the investment, and to do these great initiatives and spend their hardworking money to be energy smart and green smart, they are paying 1.5 to two times the value of that kilowatt hour. Our jurisdiction is paying at cost.
There are a couple of issues here. The issue of net billing is coming up for review. The Solar Strategy opens the door for that type of discussion. In the past it was just a single initiative, trying to put some mechanism in place, be it solar, wind, whatever people would be generating energy with that would be going back into the grid, and how would we be seen to allow that integration to occur. In other areas, for example, as we look at geothermal and the possibility of NTPC involvement, what we’re looking at is the price of displaced diesel. That takes you into the range, depending where you live, of course, about 33 cents. If people put in solar, in a community for example, or some business wanted to put in a big solar…(inaudible)…that was going to offset significant amounts of diesel, then the debate and the discussion would be how do we buy that power back and what’s the value of it. Of course, the initial value would be the displaced diesel, and then there would be other peripheral costs like reduced maintenance and all these other things, but the displaced diesel cost would then become the number.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I find it odd that we spent over $60 million in the last number of years on so many different energy initiatives enticing the average person to go out there and put some solar panels, put pellet stoves in, and when we got an ability as a government, we’ve got an ability as someone who could actually give those incentives, we give them back at cost. The profit now is being made by the utility company, and the person who is actually coming forward and making those strong initiatives, they’re now losing out money. What’s the incentive?
Again, I’ll ask the Minister here, when can we see this regulation change so that we can actually, truly have an incentive for solar investment by people of the Northwest Territories?
In some cases virtue can be its own reward. If you put in biomass and you put in wind or solar and you’re getting free energy, then that’s the benefit to you. If you can, in fact, not only get free energy for your own needs and you create a surplus, then that will help cover your other costs and then you start generating a profit.
There is opportunity here. There is an energy plan coming out. There’s a Solar Strategy coming out and an energy charrette that’s going to be held here in a few weeks. We want to engage in that kind of discussion. The Solar Strategy opens the door for that type of discussion, as does the Biomass Strategy. There are rebates and incentives already in place. If the Member has further suggestions, or committee does, that’s the very type of discussion we want to get into as we plan for the future.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 9, written questions. Item 10, returns to written questions. Item 11, replies to opening address. Item 12, petitions. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Mr. Moses.
