The fight has just begun! NS Power has applied to increase the fixed monthly charge from $11/month to $22/month in 2024. That is an extra $132/year. Simultaneously they are reducing the cost of the kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity from 16.215 cents per kWh to 16.185/kWh. With the 5% effective HST, the reduction is from 17.03 to 16.99/kWh.
This reduction is negligible, however, the economics of a solar investment have been predicated on annual increases in the cost of the kWh - something that we have been experiencing for decades.
Every dollar of revenue that NS Power transfers from the energy (kWh) charge to the fixed monthly charges renders a solar investment less attractive. In the extreme NS Power could levy a fixed monthly charge of $100 per month, and charge next to nothing for the kWh, thereby rendering an investment in solar somewhat useless - other than as environmental benefit to the entire world.
Curiously, only residential consumers, and very small commercial accounts, are hit with fixed monthly charges. The big consumers - there are no fixed monthly charges. Their bills are based solely on consumption.
Eliminate the fixed monthly charge, and replace it with a minimum annual charge of $100 - for the very few (maybe none!) residential accounts that use a negligible amount of electricity over the course of a year. Anyone who consumes $100 worth of electricity in a year, or more, would pay no $100 minimum charge. NS Power can secure the same amount of revenue from the residential sector by moving the fixed monthly revenue to an increased kWh charge. For you and me this means no increase in the total annual bill for electricity, however, it does give added incentive to (1) invest in solar and (2) invest in other ways to reduce kWh consumption.