NB Power’s net metering plan is facing pushback from the province’s solar industry.
SolarNBSolaire (SNBS), the provincial solar industry association, says the public is not getting the full picture of the proposal.
“The public narrative coming from NB Power treats this as a simple fairness issue — that solar customers are being subsidized at the expense of others,” Chris Meechan of Greenfoot Energy, a director with SNBS, said.
“That framing is incomplete, and if it goes unchallenged, decisions will be made based on an incomplete picture.”
SNBS argues that NB Power’s value‑of‑solar study, prepared by Dunsky Energy and Climate Advisors, left out environmental benefits, job creation and reliability improvements.
The group notes the consultants acknowledged those benefits were excluded because they were difficult to measure, not because they do not exist.
The proposal includes a residential demand charge, lower export credits, new fees and the end of solar rebate programs.
SNBS maintains that no Canadian utility has imposed a mandatory residential solar demand charge without extensive evidence and public engagement.
SNBS is also questioning NB Power’s proposed twenty four megawatt ceiling for net metering.
The group points to NB Power’s long‑term planning, which projects solar adoption reaching up to 600 megawatts by 2040 in high‑solar scenarios. It says NB Power should explain how the lower figure was calculated before presenting it as a policy benchmark.
“Customers who were planning to go forward — homeowners, farms, small businesses — are being asked to make decisions now, without knowing what the rules will look like once the connected regulatory process concludes,” said Meechan.
He added that the provincial government should extend the May 27 rebate deadline until the full economic impact of the proposal is understood.
