Source: news.ontario.ca
As part of its plan to keep costs down for Ontario families and businesses, and give them more control over their energy bills, the Ontario government is making it easier for homeowners, farms, and businesses to use renewable generation systems, like rooftop solar, to help lower the cost of their electricity bills.
“Our government has put families back in control of their energy bills and we will continue to give them more tools to keep costs down, including new ways to lower electricity costs,” said Todd Smith, Minister of Energy. “By allowing families and business to lease rooftop solar systems and benefit from net metering we are eliminating barriers, including up-front costs for customers, while at the same time supporting new jobs in our growing clean energy sector.”
Regulatory changes introduced today will allow interested customers to enter into agreements with a third-party to install renewable generation systems, like rooftop solar. This new option will expand access to net metering, which allows customers to generate electricity on their property for their own use, while sending excess power to the grid for a credit on their bill, lowering their electricity bill.
As a result of the change more families can benefit from savings without the substantial up-front capital costs of building these generation systems. The changes will also support farmers, allowing them to install these systems without deferring other important capital investments that would grow their business.
Reducing barriers to net metering also supports Ontario’s economy by creating new opportunities for renewable energy businesses, including installers, developers, and service providers, to offer distributed energy solutions, like roof-top solar and other distributed energy resources. Further, these amendments help to ensure that businesses interested in investing in Ontario would be able to set up their facilities here and have more options to meet renewable energy or sustainability targets.
The government continues to put the wellbeing of Ontarians first by also introducing consumer protection measures that apply specifically to these third-party ownership net metering arrangements. Some of these measures include disclosure requirements for businesses when dealing with homeowners and businesses, ensuring transparency for consumers.
