Nova Scotia to create energy efficiency agency

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA - Electricity efficiency programs in Nova Scotia will be administered by a new, independent corporation under proposed legislation.

The Efficiency Nova Scotia Corporation will be responsible for a fund that will deliver electricity efficiency programs, such as home audits and energy rebates currently provided through Conserve Nova Scotia.

Bill Estabrooks, the minister responsible for Conserve Nova Scotia, said that agency will be scrapped and many of its 15 employees will likely be hired by the new agency when it opens next spring.

Under the legislation, regulatory oversight of the corporation and its programs will be the responsibility of the province's Utility and Review Board. Until the new agency is in place, Nova Scotia Power will continue as the interim manager of electricity efficiency programs.

Don Regan, superintendent of the Berwick Electric Commission in the town of Berwick, said he's pleased that conservation programs for electricity and home heating will be united under one group.

"It's a good thing. We're happy to see it," he said. "We will be able to reduce energy use not only in terms of electricity, but in terms of home heating systems that are fuelled by oil or propane."

By the time the Efficiency Nova Scotia Corp. opens next spring, it will be two years after a public consultation recommended an independent administrator take responsibility for helping businesses and people cut their power use.

Related News

frisco solar power

Flowing with current, Frisco, Colorado wants 100% clean electricity

FRISCO - Frisco has now set a goal of 100-per-cent renewable energy. But unlike some other resolutions adopted in the last decade, this one isn't purely aspirational. It's swimming with a strong current.

With the resolution adopted last week by the town council, Frisco joins 10 other Colorado towns and cities, plus Pueblo and Summit counties, in adopting 100-per-cent goals.

The goal is to get the municipality's electricity to 100-per-cent by 2025 and the community altogether by 2035. The language of the resolution specifies that this goal is for electricity only.

Decarbonizing electricity will be far easier than transportation, and transportation far easier…

READ MORE

BC Hydro suspends new crypto mining connections due to extreme electricity use

READ MORE

Shopping for electricity is getting cheaper in Texas

READ MORE

Advocates call for change after $2.9 million surplus revealed for BC Hydro fund

READ MORE

PG&E Wildfire Assistance Program Accepting Applications for Aid

READ MORE