Three hours power cut in Nepal every day

Nova Scotia Power solar charge proposes an $8/kW monthly system access fee on net metering customers, citing grid costs. UARB review, carbon credits, rate hikes, and solar industry impacts fuel political and consumer backlash.

Key Points

A proposed $8/kW monthly grid access fee on net metered solar customers, delayed to Feb 1, 2023, pending UARB review.

✅ $8/kW monthly system access fee on net metering

✅ Delay to Feb 1, 2023 after industry and political pushback

✅ UARB review; debate over grid costs and carbon credits

Nova Scotia Power has pushed back by a year the start date of a proposed new charge for customers who generate electricity and sell it back to the grid, following days of concern from the solar industry and politicians worried that it will damage the sector.

The company applied to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) last week for various changes, including a "system access charge" of $8 per kilowatt monthly on net metered installations, and the province cannot order the utility to lower rates under current law. The vast majority of the province's 4,100 net metering customers are residential customers with solar power, according to the application. 

The proposed charge would have come into effect Tuesday if approved, but Nova Scotia Power said in a news release Tuesday it will change the date in its filing from Feb. 1, 2022, to Feb. 1, 2023.

"We understand that the solar industry was taken off guard," utility CEO Peter Gregg said in an interview.

"There could have been an opportunity to have more conversations in advance."

Gregg said the utility will meet with members of the solar industry over the next year to work on finding solutions that support the sector's growth, while addressing what NSP sees as an inequity in the net metering system.

NSP recognized that customers who choose solar invest a significant amount and pay for the electricity they use, but they don't pay for costs associated with accessing the electrical grid when they need energy, such as on cold winter evenings when the sun is not shining.

"I know that's hit a nerve, but it doesn't take away the fact that it is an issue," Gregg said.

He said this is an issue utilities are navigating around North America, where seasonal rate designs have sparked consumer backlash in New Brunswick, and NSP is open to hearing ideas for other models of charges or fees.

The utility's suggested system access charge closely resembles one proposed in California, which has also raised major concerns from the solar industry and been criticized by the likes of Elon Musk, and has parallels to Massachusetts solar demand charges as well.

Although the "solar profile" of Nova Scotia and California is very different, with far more solar customers in that state, and in other provinces such as Saskatchewan, NDP criticism of 8% hikes has intensified affordability debates, Gregg said the fundamental issues are the same.

For those with a typical 10-kilowatt solar system, which generates around $1,800 of electricity a year, the new charge would mean those customers would be required to pay $960 back to NSP. That would roughly double the length of time it takes for those customers to pay off their investment for the panels.

David Brushett, chair of Solar Nova Scotia, said he relayed concerns from solar installers and others in the industry to Gregg on Monday. 

Brushett said the year delay is a positive first step, but he is still calling on the province to take a strong stance against the application, which has led to customers cancelling their panel installations and companies considering layoffs.

"There's still an urgency to this situation that hasn't been addressed, and we need to kind of protect the industry," he said Tuesday.

NSP's original application proposed exempting net metering customers who enrolled before Feb. 1, 2022, from the charge for 25 years after they sign up. But any benefit would be lost if those customers sold their home, and the exemption wouldn't extend to the new buyers, said Brushett.

Carbon offsets missing from equation: industry
Brushett said NSP "completely ignored" the fact that it's getting free carbon offset credits from homeowners who use solar energy under the provincial cap and trade program.

If the net metering system continues as is, NSP has said non-solar customers would pay about $55 million between now and 2030. That number assumes about 2,000 people sign up for net metering each year over the next nine years.

When asked whether those carbon emission credits were factored into the calculations for the proposed charge, Gregg said, "I don't believe in the current structure it is, but it's something that certainly we'd be open to hearing about."

Brushett said his group is finalizing a legal response to NSP's proposal and has already filed an official complaint against the company with the UARB.

Base charge on actual electrical output: customer
At least one shareholder in NSP parent company Emera is considering selling his shares in response to the application.

Joe Hood, a shareholder from Middle Sackville, said the proposed charge won't apply to his existing 11.16-kilowatt solar system, but if it did, it would cost him $1,071 a year.

"I am offended that a company I would invest in would do this to the solar industry in Nova Scotia," he said.

According to his meter, Hood said he pushed 9,600 kilowatt hours of solar electricity to the grid last year— some only for a brief period, and all of which was used by his home by the end of the year.

Under the proposed charge, someone with one solar panel who goes away on vacation in the summer would push all their electricity to the grid, and be charged far less than someone with 10 panels who has used all their own power and hasn't pushed anything.

"Nova Scotia Power's argument is that it's an issue with the grid. Well, then it should be based on what touches the grid," Hood said.

Far from actually making the system fair for everyone, Hood said this charge places solar only in the hands of the super-rich or NSP, with projects like its community solar gardens in Amherst, N.S.

Green Party suggests legislation update
Nova Scotia's Green Party also said Tuesday that Gregg's arguments of fairness are misleading, echoing earlier premier opposition to a 14% hike on rates.

The party is calling for an update to the Electricity Act that would "prevent penalizing any activity that helps Nova Scotia reach its emissions target," aligning with calls to make the electricity system more accountable to residents.

In its application, NSP has also asked to increase electricity rates for residential customers by at least 10 per cent over the next three years, amid debate that culminated in a 14% rate hike approval by regulators. 

The company wants to maintain its nine per cent rate of return.

NSP expects to earn $153 million this year, $192 million in 2023, and $213 million in 2024 from its rate of return. 

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Taltson Hydro Electric Heating directs surplus hydro power in the South Slave to space heat via discounted rates, displacing diesel and cutting greenhouse gas emissions, with rebates, separate metering, and backup systems shaping adoption.

Key Points

An initiative using Taltson's surplus hydro to heat buildings, discount rates replace diesel and cut emissions.

✅ 6.3 cents/kWh heating rate needs separate metering, backup heat

✅ 4-6 MW surplus hydro; outages require diesel; rebates available

✅ Program may be curtailed if new mines or mills demand power

A Northwest Territories green energy advocate says there's an obvious way to expand demand for electricity in the territory's South Slave region without relying on new mining developments — direct it toward heating.

One of the reasons the N.W.T. has always had some of the highest electricity rates in Canada is that a small number of people have to shoulder the huge costs of hydro facilities and power plants.

But some observers point out that residents consume as much energy for heat as they do for conventional uses of electricity, such as lighting and powering appliances. Right now almost all of that heat is generated by expensive oil imported from the United States.

The Northwest Territories Power Corporation says the 18-megawatt Taltson hydro system that serves the South Slave typically has four to six megawatts of excess generating capacity, even as record demand in Yukon is reported. It says using some of that to generate heat is a government priority.

But renewable energy advocate and former N.W.T. MP Dennis Bevington, who lives in the South Slave and heats his home using electricity, says the government is not making it easy for people to tap into that surplus to heat their homes and businesses, a debate that some say would benefit from independent planning at the national level.

Discount rate for heating, but there are catches
The power corporation offers hydro electricity from Taltson to use for heating at a much lower price than it charges for electricity generally. The discounted rate is not available to residential customers.

According to the corporation, consumers pay only 6.3 cents per kilowatt hour compared to the regular rate of just under 24 cents, while Manitoba Hydro financial pressures highlight the risks of expanding demand without new generation.

But to distinguish between the two, users are required to cover the cost of installing a separate power meter. Bevington, who developed the N.W.T.'s first energy strategy, says that is an unnecessary expense.

Taltson expansion key to reducing N.W.T.'s greenhouse gas emissions, says gov't
"The billing is how you control that," he said. "You establish an average electrical use in the winter months. That could be the base rate. Then, if you use power in the winter months above that, you get the discount."

Users are also required to have a back-up heating system. Taltson hydro power offers heating on the understanding that when the hydro system is down — such as during power outages or annual summer maintenance of the hydro system — electricity is not available for heating.
The president and CEO of the power corporation says there's a good reason for that. "The diesels are more expensive to run and they're actually greenhouse gas emitting," said Noel Voykin. "The whole idea of this [electric heat] program is to provide clean energy that is not otherwise being used."

According to the corporation, there have been huge savings for the few who have tapped into the hydro system to heat their buildings, and across Canada utilities are exploring novel generation such as NB Power's Belledune seawater project to diversify supply.

It's being used to heat Aurora College's Breynat Hall, and Joseph B. Tyrrell Elementary School and the transportation department garage in Fort Smith, N.W.T. Electricity is also used to heat the Jackfish power plant in the North Slave region.

The corporation says that during a four-year period, this saved more than 600,000 litres of diesel fuel and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by about 1,700 tonnes.

Bevington says the most obvious place to expand the use of electrical heat is to government housing.

"We have a hundred public housing units in Fort Smith," he said. "The government is putting diesel into those units [for heating] and they could be putting in their own electricity."

Heating a tiny part of energy market
The corporation says it sells only about 2.5 megawatts of electricity for heating each year, which is less than four per cent of the power it sells in the region. It says with some upgrades, another two megawatts of electricity could be made available for electrical heat.

Bevington says the corporation could do more to market electricity for heating. Voykin said that's the government's job. There are three programs that offer rebates to residents and businesses converting to electric heating.

If you build it, will they come? N.W.T. gov't hopes hydro expansion will attract investment
There are better options than billion dollar Taltson expansion, say energy leaders
There may be a reason why the government and the corporation are not more aggressively promoting using surplus electricity in the Taltson system for heating, as large hydro ambitions have reopened old wounds in places like Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador during recent debates.

It is anticipating that new industrial customers may require that excess capacity in the coming years, and experiences elsewhere show that accommodating new energy-intensive customers can be challenging for utilities. Voykin said those potential new customers include a proposed mine at Pine Point and a pellet mill in Enterprise, N.W.T., even as biomass use faces environmental pushback in some regions.

The corporation says any surplus power in the system will be sold at standard rates to any new industrial customers instead of at discount rates for heating. If that requires cutting back on the heating program, it will be cut back.

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Texas Deep Freeze Energy Crisis strains grids as polar vortex triggers rolling blackouts, record natural gas and electricity prices, refinery shutdowns, WTI gains, and scarcity pricing across Texas, Oklahoma, SPP, and Mexico.

Key Points

A polar vortex slamming Texas energy: outages, record power prices, gas spikes, and reduced oil output.

✅ Record gas trades near $500/mmBtu; power hits $6,000/MWh

✅ WTI tops $60 as Texas shuts in ~1 million bpd

✅ Rolling blackouts across SPP; ERCOT scarcity pricing

A deep freeze is roiling electricity markets in more than a dozen U.S. states, leading to record-setting prices for electricity and natural gas, knocking oil production off line and shutting down some of North America’s largest refineries.

“It’s freakishly cold,” said Eric Fell, a senior natural gas analyst with Wood Mackenzie in Houston, where record cold temperatures and snow have blanketed the city, caused rolling power outages, shut down refineries and sent both natural gas and electricity prices soaring.

'It’s freakishly cold': Deep freeze slams North American energy sector

The polar vortex has led to freezing temperatures in every county in Texas, the largest energy-producing state in the U.S., and caused massive disruptions across the North American energy complex, triggering Texas power outages as far south as Mexico.

As the plunge in temperatures forced oil companies to shut in an estimated one million barrels of oil production in Texas on Monday, the West Texas Intermediate benchmark price rose above the US$60 per barrel threshold for the first time in a year to settle up 1 per cent, or US65 cents, at US$60.12 per barrel.

President Joe Biden declared an emergency on Monday, unlocking federal assistance to Texas.

People carry groceries from a local gas station on Monday in Austin, Texas. Winter storm Uri has brought historic cold weather to Texas, causing traffic delays and power outages. 

Frozen wind farms are just a small piece of Texas’s power grid woes right now.

Fell said regional natural gas and electricity prices in Oklahoma and Texas broke U.S. records over the weekend.

On Friday, Oklahoma gas transmission prices averaged US$350 per million British thermal units and Fell said one trade went as high as US$600 per mmBtu. In parts of the Texas panhandle and elsewhere, prices jumped to US$200, “all of which individually would have been new records,” Fell said, noting the previous record was US$160.

On Monday, natural gas for physical delivery in the U.S. was trading for as much as US$500 per mmBtu as demand for the heating and power plant fuel soared.  Spot gas has been trading for hundreds of dollars across the central U.S. since Thursday with a surge in heating demand triggering widespread blackouts and sending electricity prices soaring. The fuel normally trades in the region for less than US$3 per mmBtu.

Similarly, electricity prices in Texas surged to US$6,000 per megawatt hour on Monday, as U.S. power companies grapple with supply-chain constraints, which Fell said is “100 times the normal price.”

“You’re seeing scarcity pricing in power and gas. The only thing that’s different this time is it’s staying there – it’s not just an hour or two hours, it’s the whole day,” he said.

The blast of Arctic cold, which has blanketed Canada and much of the U.S., has created a massive draw on natural gas supplies, used both for home heating and industrial uses like electricity generation.

Little Rock, Ark.-based Southwest Power Pool, which coordinates electricity distribution for parts of 14 states including Oklahoma Kansas, Nebraska and even as far north as North Dakota, announced rolling blackouts across its network on Monday as a result of the power outages.

“In our history as a grid operator, this is an unprecedented event and marks the first time SPP has ever had to call for controlled interruptions of service” SPP’s executive vice-president and chief operating officer Lanny Nickell said in a release, adding the move was “a last resort” to “prevent circumstances from getting worse.”

The frigid conditions have led to a surge in natural gas prices across the continent, including in Alberta where the AECO benchmark price jumped to a seven-year high of $6.36 per thousand cubic feet last week, a price not seen since 2014.

Energy systems in Texas and Oklahoma, which are major energy exporters to other U.S. states, are built to withstand severe heat – not extreme cold. The result is a disruption to the gas supply at exactly the time the U.S. energy system is demanding those molecules.

“Given how far south it’s gone into Texas, this is where you have a lot of gas production that isn’t properly winterized,” said Jeremy McCrea, an analyst with Raymond James covering the natural gas industry.

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Bitcoin energy consumption is driven by mining electricity demand, with TWh-scale power use, carbon footprint concerns, and Cambridge estimates. Rising prices incentivize more hardware; efficiency gains and renewables adoption shape sustainability outcomes.

Key Points

Bitcoin energy consumption is mining's electricity use, driven by price, device efficiency, and energy mix.

✅ Cambridge tool estimates ~121 TWh annual usage

✅ Rising BTC price incentivizes more mining hardware

✅ Efficiency, renewables, and costs shape footprint

"Mining" for the cryptocurrency is power-hungry, with power curtailments reported during heat waves, involving heavy computer calculations to verify transactions.

Cambridge researchers say it consumes around 121.36 terawatt-hours (TWh) a year - and is unlikely to fall unless the value of the currency slumps, even as Americans use less electricity overall.

Critics say electric-car firm Tesla's decision to invest heavily in Bitcoin undermines its environmental image.

The currency's value hit a record $48,000 (£34,820) this week. following Tesla's announcement that it had bought about $1.5bn bitcoin and planned to accept it as payment in future.

But the rising price offers even more incentive to Bitcoin miners to run more and more machines.

And as the price increases, so does the energy consumption, according to Michel Rauchs, researcher at The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, who co-created the online tool that generates these estimates.

“It is really by design that Bitcoin consumes that much electricity,” Mr Rauchs told BBC’s Tech Tent podcast. “This is not something that will change in the future unless the Bitcoin price is going to significantly go down."

The online tool has ranked Bitcoin’s electricity consumption above Argentina (121 TWh), the Netherlands (108.8 TWh) and the United Arab Emirates (113.20 TWh) - and it is gradually creeping up on Norway (122.20 TWh).

The energy it uses could power all kettles used in the UK, where low-carbon generation stalled in 2019, for 27 years, it said.

However, it also suggests the amount of electricity consumed every year by always-on but inactive home devices in the US alone could power the entire Bitcoin network for a year, and in Canada, B.C. power imports have helped meet demand.

Mining Bitcoin
In order to "mine" Bitcoin, computers - often specialised ones - are connected to the cryptocurrency network.

They have the job of verifying transactions made by people who send or receive Bitcoin.

This process involves solving puzzles, which, while not integral to verifying movements of the currency, provide a hurdle to ensure no-one fraudulently edits the global record of all transactions.

As a reward, miners occasionally receive small amounts of Bitcoin in what is often likened to a lottery.

To increase profits, people often connect large numbers of miners to the network - even entire warehouses full of them, as seen with a Medicine Hat bitcoin operation backed by an electricity deal.

That uses lots of electricity because the computers are more or less constantly working to complete the puzzles, prompting some utilities to consider pauses on new crypto loads in certain regions.

The University of Cambridge tool models the economic lifetime of the world's Bitcoin miners and assumes that all the Bitcoin mining machines worldwide are working with various efficiencies.

Using an average electricity price per kilowatt hour ($0.05) and the energy demands of the Bitcoin network, it is then possible to estimate how much electricity is being consumed at any one time, though in places like China's power sector data can be opaque.
 

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Canada AI Data Center Grid Integration aligns AI demand with renewable energy, energy storage, and grid reliability. It emphasizes transmission upgrades, liquid cooling efficiency, and policy incentives to balance economic growth with sustainable power.

Key Points

Linking AI data centers to Canada's grid with renewables, storage, and efficiency to ensure reliable, sustainable power.

✅ Diversify supply with wind, solar, hydro, and firm low-carbon resources

✅ Deploy grid-scale batteries to balance peaks and enhance reliability

✅ Upgrade transmission, distribution, and adopt liquid cooling efficiency

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing various sectors, driving demand for data centers that support AI applications. In Canada, this surge in data center development presents both economic opportunities and challenges for the electricity grid, where utilities using AI to adapt to evolving demand dynamics. Integrating AI-focused data centers into Canada's electricity infrastructure requires strategic planning to balance economic growth with sustainable energy practices.​

Economic and Technological Incentives

Canada has been at the forefront of AI research for over three decades, establishing itself as a global leader in the field. The federal government has invested significantly in AI initiatives, with over $2 billion allocated in 2024 to maintain Canada's competitive edge and to align with a net-zero grid by 2050 target nationwide. Provincial governments are also actively courting data center investments, recognizing the economic and technological benefits these facilities bring. Data centers not only create jobs and stimulate local economies but also enhance technological infrastructure, supporting advancements in AI and related fields.​

Challenges to the Electricity Grid

However, the energy demands of AI data centers pose significant challenges to Canada's electricity grid, mirroring the power challenge for utilities seen in the U.S., as demand rises. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has raised concerns about the growing electricity consumption driven by AI, noting that the current power generation capacity may struggle to meet this increasing demand, while grids are increasingly exposed to harsh weather conditions that threaten reliability as well. This situation could lead to reliability issues, including potential blackouts during peak demand periods, jeopardizing both economic activities and the progress of AI initiatives.​

Strategic Integration Approaches

To effectively integrate AI data centers into Canada's electricity grids, a multifaceted approach is essential:

1. Diversifying Energy Sources: Relying solely on traditional energy sources may not suffice to meet the heightened demands of AI data centers. Incorporating renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power, can provide sustainable alternatives. For instance, Alberta has emerged as a proactive player in supporting AI-enabled data centers, with the TransAlta data centre agreement expected to advance this momentum, leveraging its renewable energy potential to attract such investments.
    

2. Implementing Energy Storage Solutions: Integrating large-scale battery storage systems can help manage the intermittent nature of renewable energy. These systems store excess energy generated during low-demand periods, releasing it during peak times to stabilize the grid. In some communities, AI-driven grid upgrades complement storage deployments to optimize operations, which supports data center needs and community reliability.
    

3. Enhancing Grid Infrastructure: Upgrading transmission and distribution networks is crucial to handle the increased load from AI data centers. Strategic investments in grid infrastructure can prevent bottlenecks and ensure efficient energy delivery, including exploration of macrogrids in Canada to improve regional transfers, supporting both existing and new data center operations.​
    

4. Adopting Energy-Efficient Data Center Designs: Designing data centers with energy efficiency in mind can significantly reduce their power consumption. Innovations such as liquid cooling systems are being explored to manage the heat generated by high-density AI workloads, offering more efficient alternatives to traditional air cooling methods.

5. Establishing Collaborative Policies: Collaboration among government entities, utility providers, and data center operators is vital to align energy policies with technological advancements. Developing regulatory frameworks that incentivize sustainable practices can guide the growth of AI data centers in harmony with grid capabilities.​
    

Integrating AI data centers into Canada's electricity grids presents both significant opportunities and challenges. By adopting a comprehensive strategy that includes diversifying energy sources, implementing advanced energy storage, enhancing grid infrastructure, promoting energy-efficient designs, and fostering collaborative policies, Canada can harness the benefits of AI while ensuring a reliable and sustainable energy future. This balanced approach will position Canada as a leader in both AI innovation and sustainable energy practices.

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Illinois Zero Emission Credits support nuclear plants via tradable credits tied to wholesale electricity prices, carbon costs, created by the Future Energy Jobs Bill to avert Exelon closures and sustain low-carbon power.

Key Points

State credits that value nuclear power's zero-carbon output, priced by market and carbon metrics to keep plants running.

✅ Pegged to wholesale prices, carbon costs, and state averages.

✅ Created by Future Energy Jobs Bill to prevent plant retirements.

✅ Supports Exelon Quad Cities and Clinton nuclear facilities.

Nuclear plants have produced over half of Illinois electricity generation since 2010, but the states two largest plants would have been retired amid the debate over saving nuclear plants if the state had not created a zero emission credit (ZEC) mechanism to support the facilities.

The two plants, Quad Cities and Clinton, collectively delivered more than 12 percent of the states electricity generation over the past several years. In May 2016, however, Exelon, the owner of the plants, announced that they had together lost over $800 million dollars over the previous six years and revealed plans to retire them in 2017 and 2018, similar to the Three Mile Island closure later announced for 2019 by its owner.

In December 2016, Illinois passed the Future Energy Jobs Bill, which established a zero emission credit (ZEC) mechanism

to support the plants financially. Exelon then cancelled its plans to retire the two facilities.

The ZEC is a tradable credit that represents the environmental attributes of one megawatt-hour of energy produced from the states nuclear plants. Its price is based on a number of factors that include wholesale electricity market prices, nuclear generation costs, state average market prices, and estimated costs of the long-term effects of carbon dioxide emissions.

The bill is set to take effect in June, but faces multiple court challenges as some utilities have expressed concerns that the ZEC violates the commerce clause and affects federal authority to regulate wholesale energy prices, amid gas-fired competition in nearby markets that shapes the revenue outlook.

Illinois ranks first in the United States for both generating capacity and net electricity generation from nuclear power, a resource many see as essential for net-zero emissions goals, and accounts for approximately one-eighth of the nuclear power generation in the nation.

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