Saskatoon still offering net metering program

SaskPower announced it was suspending its net metering program last week. At the time SaskPower said it was because the program hit its cap ahead of schedule.  The program is under review and will be replaced in some form.

That has Saskatoon Light and Power watching closely for what comes next.  Director Trevor Bell said the Saskatoon program has no cap and is still being offered to customers.

“We never implemented a cap and we’ve had net metering for about 10 years. Typically, we match our program similar to SaskPower, so at this point we’re just watching what changes they make to the program and decide whether we need to make changes as well,” said Bell.

Net metering allows customers to generate some of their own electricity and then they can sell what they don’t use back to the power grid. The power that people generate typically comes from solar or other renewable energy. In some cases people can end up with a zero balance on their bill.

Bell said utilities have to ensure there is a balance, because equipment needs maintenance and upgrades, so money needs to be coming in.

“So if people aren’t contributing to that, then they’re not paying that portion of the cost of the grid. They’re still paying their monthly fee, but that monthly fee does not provide enough coverage for us to maintain the grid.”

“The issue that all utilities in North America are struggling with, is to come up with a mechanism to still have a way of maintaining the grid, but also allowing people to generate power if they wish to do so,” said Bell.

Bell said the city has 150 households that use Saskatoon Light and Power’s net metering program.