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Part II .

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Green Choice Program Regulations

made under

Section 32 of the

Schedule to the

Electricity Act

S.N.S. 2025, c. 18

O.I.C. 2023-234 (effective August 29, 2023), N.S. Reg. 155/2023

amended to O.I.C. 2026-44 (effective February 17, 2026), N.S. Reg. 44/2026

Table of Contents

Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.

Click here to go to the text of the regulations .

Interpretation

Citation

Definitions

Eligibility, Application, Application Process and Compliance Requirements for

Participants

Eligibility requirements for participants

Application intake window for participants

Application requirements for participants

Application process for participants

Maximum electricity consumption enrollment at time of participant’s application

Incomplete participant applications

Evaluation and deferral of participant applications

Minister’s decision on participant’s application

Aggregate nameplate capacity for Green Choice Program

Fees, costs and penalties of Green Choice Program

Procurement and Power Purchase Agreements

Procurement of renewable low-impact electricity and awarding of power purchase

agreement

Term of power purchase agreement

Termination of power purchase agreement

Subscription in Green Choice Program

Assignment of subscription

Term of subscription

Reallocation of subscribed electricity

Renewable Energy Certificates

Registration and retirement of renewable energy certificates

Reporting Requirements

Supplier reporting requirements

NSPI reporting requirements

Renewable Electricity Standards

Green Choice Program electricity and renewable electricity standards

Green Choice Program Review

Program review

Interpretation

Citation

1 These regulations may be cited as the Green Choice Program Regulations .

Definitions

(1) Except as otherwise provided in these regulations, words and expressions used in

these regulations have the same meaning as in the Act and the Renewable

Electricity Regulations made under the Act.

(2) In these regulations,

“Act” means the Electricity Act ;

“aggregate partnership” means a partnership consisting of separate public

institutions whose combined subscribed electricity is at least 10 000 000 kWh

annually at the time of the partnership’s application to the Green Choice Program;

“applicant” means a person, public institution, business or aggregate partnership

applying to become a participant;

“application” means the documents, information and forms submitted by an

applicant to apply to become a participant;

“bidder” means a company or corporate body that is bidding on a request for

proposals for procurement of renewable low-impact electricity for the Green

Choice Program;

“eligible electricity”, for the purposes of the Green Choice Program, means

renewable low-impact electricity that is all of the following:

(

i) not already supplied to a customer under any other program under the

Act that directly generates renewable electricity for customer

accounts and NSPI service locations,

(ii) not currently directly supplied under a procurement under Sections

27, 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32 of the Act;

“fixed administrative costs” means costs incurred by NSPI to administer the Green

Choice Program, including costs the Minister considers administrative in nature

and any costs associated with the following activities:

(

i) billing,

the Green Choice Program,

(iii) reallocating subscribed electricity,

(iv) filing and transferring a REC,

(

v) reporting and record keeping,

(vi) assisting an applicant in submitting their application,

(vii) verifying the application processes with the Minister;

“participant” means any entity that participates in the Green Choice Program,

including each partner in an aggregate partnership;

“partner” means one of the separate public institutions in an aggregate partnership;

“public institution” means any of the following:

(

i) a registered charity for income tax purposes,

(ii) a school authority,

(iii) a public college,

(iv) a university,

(

v) a hospital authority,

(vi) a municipal, provincial or federal government, including a

department, agency or Crown corporation that is part of a municipal,

provincial or federal government,

(vii) a Mi’kmaw band council or its wholly owned subsidiaries;

“renewable energy certificate” or “REC” means a document that provides proof

that a participant owns the renewable attributes per MWh of renewable energy

generated;

“social procurement” means the achievement of strategic social, environmental,

economic and workforce development goals through the purchasing of goods and

services;

“subscribed electricity” means renewable low-impact electricity contracted by a

participant in and produced by a supplier to the Green Choice Program;

“supplier” means an independent power producer as defined in the Renewable

Electricity Regulations made under the Act.

Eligibility, Application, Application Process and Compliance Requirements for

Participants

Eligibility requirements for participants

3 To be an eligible participant in the Green Choice Program, an applicant must meet all of

the following requirements:

(

a) be 1 of the following entities:

(

i) a single corporate or commercial customer with a minimum

subscription volume of 10 000 000 kWh annually in electricity load

over 1 or more electricity meters,

(ii) a public institution or its departments, agencies or Crown

corporations with a minimum subscription volume of

10 000 000 kWh annually in electricity load over 1 or more

electricity meters,

(iii) an aggregated partnership of 2 or more separate public institutions

who have aggregated their electricity load to achieve a minimum

aggregated subscription volume of 10 000 000 kWh annually in

electricity load over 1 or more electricity meters,

(iv) a partner in an aggregated partnership with an electricity load of no

less than 1 000 000 kWh annually or that subscribes a minimum of

10 000 000 kWh per year in the Green Choice Program;

(

b) be in good standing with NSPI or a new NSPI customer with the

documentation required by clause 5(f);

(

c) only subscribe eligible electricity that is wholly generated and delivered

within the Province;

(

d) be a customer with a customer account wholly located in the Province

within NSPI’s service territory.

Application intake window for participants

(1) The Minister may open an intake window for applications from eligible

participants when there is nameplate capacity available in the Green Choice

Program.

(2) The start and end dates of the intake window for applications from eligible

participants must be posted publicly for at least 20 business days prior to the start

date of the intake window.

(3) The start and end dates of the intake window for applications from eligible

participants must be determined by the Minister.

(4) No applications will be accepted after the end date of the intake window for

applications from eligible participants.

Application requirements for participants

5 An applicant must include all of the following in an application under subsection 30(3)

of the Act:

(

a) an application form

(

i) containing the name, address, e-mail address and telephone number

of the applicant, and

(ii) completed and signed by a person who has authority to sign on

behalf of the applicant;

(

b) confirmation that the applicant meets all of the eligibility requirements

described in

Section 3;

(

c) a document that outlines the total electricity load and the participating

customer accounts to be enrolled in the Green Choice Program;

(

d) a statement specifying all of the following:

(

i) the amount of eligible electricity in kilowatt hours intended to be

enrolled in the Green Choice Program annually,

(ii) the intended length of the term of enrollment in the Green Choice

Program;

(

e) for an aggregate partnership, all of the following:

(

i) the names of all partners in the aggregate partnership,

(ii) a statement designating one of the partners or a third party as the

representative of the aggregate partnership,

(iii) proof that the partners have entered into an aggregate partnership, in

the form of a copy of a letter, an agreement or other written

documentation,

(iv) confirmation by each partner that they will subscribe for the same

term in their participant agreement as the other partners in the

aggregate partnership;

(

f) for an applicant that is a new customer of NSPI, all of the following:

(

i) a credit check, in the form described in the application,

(ii) proof of anticipated energy use, in a form acceptable to the Minister;

(

g) any other documents, information or forms required by the Minister and

described in the application.

Application process for participants

(1) All applications must be submitted in the form or manner required by the Minister,

which may include electronic submission through the Internet.

(2) An applicant may withdraw their application at any time prior to being accepted

into the Green Choice Program.

(3) An applicant may apply for eligible electricity only.

(4) An applicant may apply to 1 or more application intake windows described in

Section 4, if they are subscribing new eligible electricity.

(5) Applications from ineligible participants will be rejected.

(6) The Minister may contact NSPI to verify any of the information included in an

application.

(7) If an applicant who is an existing participant applies through an application intake

window to increase their subscription volume,

(

a) they may apply to increase their subscription volume by any amount;

(

b) they are not required to meet the requirements of

Section 3; and

(

c) they will receive priority over new applicants applying through the same

application intake window.

Maximum electricity consumption enrollment at time of participant’s application

7 Upon application, an applicant may enroll up to a maximum of 120% of their electricity

consumption, as calculated by the Green Choice Program based on the applicant’s

electricity consumption during the previous year or years selected by the Green Choice

Program, unless otherwise approved by the Minister.

Incomplete participant applications

8 Incomplete applications must be rejected, including applications containing information

that cannot be verified.

Evaluation and deferral of participant applications

(1) The Minister may consider all of the following when evaluating applications from

eligible participants:

(

a) whether an eligible participant has made a public climate change or

emissions reduction commitment;

(

b) the date by which an eligible participant must meet the climate change or

emissions reduction commitment described in clause (a);

(

c) the total aggregate nameplate capacity available under the Green Choice

Program;

(

d) for an eligible participant that is a new NSPI customer, the long-term

economic viability of the eligible participant and the accuracy of the energy

modelling for the eligible participant’s new NSPI service locations;

(

e) any other information the Minister deems appropriate.

(2) The Minister has the discretion to determine the total number of eligible

participants and the total amount of subscribed electricity enrolled in the Green

Choice Program.

(3) If an eligible participant submits a complete application, but is not selected to

participate in the Green Choice Program, the Minister may defer the eligible

participant’s acceptance and hold their application on file for up to 3 years.

(4) If capacity becomes available within the Green Choice Program during the 3-year

period referred to in subsection (3), the Minister may select a deferred eligible

participant to participate in the Green Choice Program and enrol the eligible

participant’s requested amount of subscribed electricity in the Green Choice

Program with the eligible participant’s consent.

Minister’s decision on participant’s application

(1) The Minister must, no later than 45 business days after the close of the intake

window for applications from eligible participants, provide written notification to

an eligible participant that their application has been accepted, deferred or rejected.

(2) Before accepting, deferring or rejecting an application, the Minister may request

additional information from an eligible participant to clarify the information

submitted in their application.

(3) All additional information requested by the Minister under subsection (2) must be

submitted within a time frame specified by the Minister.

(4) If the additional information requested under subsection (2) is not received within

the time frame specified by the Minister, the Minister may deem the application

incomplete and reject it.

(5) The Minister must notify NSPI of all eligible participants accepted into the Green

Choice Program and all eligible participants deferred.

Aggregate nameplate capacity for Green Choice Program

11 The aggregate nameplate capacity of all NSPI service locations accepted into the Green

Choice Program must not exceed 1 500 000 000 kWh.

Fees, costs and penalties of Green Choice Program

(1) Participants must incur no fees, costs or penalties associated with the Green Choice

Program outside of those listed in these regulations.

(2) A fixed administrative cost charged under these regulations must not exceed

$0.001 per kWh of eligible subscribed electricity contracted by the participant, up

to a total of $100 000 per participant annually.

(3) A participant who is charged a fixed administrative cost by NSPI under these

regulations or who receives a credit under subsection 31(2) of the Act must receive

a billing adjustment that consists of two separate line items on the participant’s bill.

(4) The Board must review the fixed administrative costs set out in this

Section at least

once every 5 years.

Procurement and Power Purchase Agreements

Procurement of renewable low-impact electricity and awarding of power purchase

agreement

(1) Procurement of renewable low-impact electricity must comply with Sections 27,

28 and 29 of the Act and Sections 35A, 35B, 35C, 35D, 36 and 37 of the

Renewable Electricity Regulations made under the Act.

(2) If a procurement administrator awards a power purchase agreement to a successful

bidder, the bidder’s renewable electricity projects become the renewable energy

suppliers for the participants’ subscribed electricity for the purpose of the Green

Choice Program.

Term of power purchase agreement

14 A power purchase agreement must be for a term of 25 years starting from the

commercial operation date.

Termination of power purchase agreement

15 If a power purchase agreement issued under the Green Choice Program is terminated,

NSPI must provide notification of the termination in writing to the Board and the

Minister within 30 business days.

Subscription in Green Choice Program

(1) NSPI must, in collaboration with the participants, update the participants’

subscriptions no later than 90 business days before the commercial operation dates

of the suppliers specified in the power purchase agreements.

(2) A participant must confirm the term of their subscription in the Green Choice

accordance with

Section 18.

(3) A participant may terminate their subscription in the Green Choice Program before

participant’s subscription, if they provide 90 days’ written notice of the termination

to NSPI and the Minister.

(4) A participant may be charged costs and receive credits when

(

a) the first supplier in the Green Choice Program begins commercial

operation, as defined in the supplier’s power purchase agreement; and

(

b) the participant receives renewable low-impact electricity from the first

supplier in the Green Choice Program to begin commercial operation.

(5) NSPI must notify the participants and the Minister of when all of the following

will occur at least 7 business days before they occur:

(

a) a supplier project achieves commercial operation;

Choice Program come into effect;

(

c) costs and credits begin to be charged, for billing purposes.

(6) A participant who is 1 of the entities described in

Section 3 may reduce their

subscription volume in accordance with these regulations and the participant

agreement to an amount below the minimum subscription volumes described in

Section 3 during the term of their participant agreement.

Assignment of subscription

(1) A participant may assign or transfer their subscription in the Green Choice

Program to a subsidiary, affiliated party, Crown corporation, department or agency

of a public institution if the assignee or transferee accepts the same terms and

conditions of the subscription as the participant.

(2) An assignment of a participant’s subscription is subject to approval by NSPI and

that approval must not be unreasonably withheld.

(3) A participant must notify the Minister in writing when the participant’s

subscription has been transferred or assigned.

(4) A participant must submit to NSPI, on behalf of the assignee to whom the

participant has assigned their subscription, documents that demonstrate all of the

following:

(

a) that the results of the credit check of the assignee are equal to or greater than

those of the participant at the time of the assignment;

(

b) that the assignee has acquired an interest in the NSPI service locations or

locations associated with the participant’s subscribed electricity.

Term of subscription

(1) A participant must subscribe to the Green Choice Program for a minimum of 5

years.

(2) A participant may extend the term of their subscription every 5 years.

(3) A participant must provide 90 business days’ written notice to NSPI and the

Minister of their intention to extend their subscription term.

(4) The maximum amalgamated term of a participant’s subscription must not exceed

25 years.

may be amended by NSPI or the participant, subject to the approval of both the

participant and NSPI.

Reallocation of subscribed electricity

(1) If a participant or aggregate partnership has decreased their subscribed electricity or

a participant has not extended or terminated their subscription, NSPI must make a

reasonable effort to reallocate and reassign the newly available subscribed

electricity among the remaining participants by

(

a) notifying the remaining participants of the availability of the subscribed

electricity; and

(

b) allowing the remaining participants to request an increase in their subscribed

electricity.

(2) If NSPI cannot, within 60 business days, reallocate or reassign the subscribed

electricity described in subsection (1) to the remaining participants, NSPI must

notify the Minister of the amount of available electricity supply under the Green

Choice Program.

(3) Upon receipt of a notification from NSPI provided under subsection (2), the

Minister may do any of the following:

(

a) open a new application intake window;

(

b) if it has been less than 3 years since the end of the previous application

intake window, contact deferred eligible participants.

(4) If 365 calendar days have elapsed since NSPI notified the Minister under

subsection (2) and the subscribed electricity has not been allocated to new

participants, it may be allocated to serve the general ratepayer, in which case the

subscribed electricity will no longer be available for subscription under the Green

Choice Program.

Renewable Energy Certificates

Registration and retirement of renewable energy certificates

(1) NSPI must register annually, on behalf of a participant, a renewable energy

certificate with an internationally recognized organization.

(2) Each year on or before September 30, NSPI must provide the participant with all

of the following information about the renewable energy certificate registration:

(

a) annual volume of the participant’s renewable energy certificate;

(

b) the participant’s identification numbers;

(

c) vintage.

(3) Upon NSPI providing the participant with the specifics of the renewable energy

certificate registration under subsection (2), the renewable energy certificate will be

considered retired.

Reporting Requirements

Supplier reporting requirements

(1) The Minister may request reports from a supplier, as required, regarding all of the

following:

(

a) the supplier’s progress in putting its electricity generation facility into

service, if the electricity generation facility has not reached commercial

operation;

(

b) social procurement activities and local economic benefits, including

employment, instigated by the supplier in the previous year and plans for

any social procurement activities and local economic benefits in the

upcoming year;

(

c) technical data, upon the commencement of the commercial operation of a

electricity generation facility.

(2) The Minister may specify the form and content of supplier reports requested under

subsection (1).

(3) The Minister may publish aggregate information from supplier reports submitted in

response to requests made under subsection (1).

NSPI reporting requirements

23 On or before January 31 of each year, NSPI must provide a report to the Minister and the

Board summarizing all of the following actions taken in the previous calendar year

regarding the participants and power purchase agreements that are under the Green

Choice Program:

(

a) any extension, assignment, transfer or termination of a subscription of a

participant;

(

b) any transfer, assignment or termination of a power purchase agreement.

Renewable Electricity Standards

Green Choice Program electricity and renewable electricity standards

24 All electricity procured under the Green Choice Program may be used by NSPI to meet

the renewable electricity standards.

Green Choice Program Review

Program review

25 The Minister may review the Green Choice Program, including any associated costs, fees

and benefits, as needed, but must do so no later than December 31, 2030.

Legislative History

Reference Tables

Green Choice Program Regulations

N.S. Reg.

155/2023

Electricity Act

Note: The

information in these tables does not form part of the regulations and is

compiled by the Office of the Registrar of Regulations for reference only.

Source Law

The current consolidation of the Green Choice Program Regulations made

under the Electricity Act includes all of the

following regulations:

N.S.

Regulation

In force

date*

How in force

Royal Gazette

Part II Issue

155/2023

Aug 29, 2023

date specified

Sep 8, 2023

226/2024

Oct 22, 2024

date specified

Nov 1, 2024

44/2026

Feb 17, 2026

date specified

Mar 6, 2026

The following regulations are not

yet in force and are not included in the current consolidation:

N.S.

Regulation

In force

date*

How in force

Royal Gazette

Part II Issue

*See subsection 3(6) of the Regulations Act for

rules about in force dates of regulations.

Amendments by Provision

ad. = added

am. = amended

fc. = fee change

ra. = reassigned

rep. = repealed

rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision affected

How affected

2(2), defn. of “aggregate partnership” ....................................

am. 226/2024, 44/2026

2(2), defn. of “eligible electricity” ...

am. 226/2024, 44/2026

2(2), defn. of “subscribed electricity” ......................................

am. 226/2024

3(a)(i)-(iv) ........................................

am. 226/2024

5 ........................................................

am. 44/2026

5(d)(i) ..........................................

am. 226/2024

6(7) ...................................................

ad. 44/2026

9(1)(d) ..............................................

am. 226/2024

11 ......................................................

am. 226/2024

12(2) .................................................

am. 226/2024

12(3) .................................................

ad. 226/2024 ; am. 44/2026

12(4) .................................................

ad. 44/2026

13(1) .................................................

am.

44/2026

16(1) .................................................

am.

226/2024

16(4) .................................................

rs.

226/2024

16(6) .................................................

ad. 44/2026

17(4)(b) ............................................

am. 226/2024

20(1)(b) ............................................

am.

226/2024

21 ......................................................

am.

226/2024

25 ......................................................

am.

226/2024

Note that changes to headings are not

included in the above table.

Editorial Notes and Corrections

Note

Effective

date

Electricity Act , S.N.S. 2004, c. 25 repealed and

replaced with the Electricity Act , S.N.S. 2025, c. 18 (regulations

continued under new Act).

Repealed and Superseded

N.S.

Regulation

Title

In force

date

Repealed

date

Note: Only

regulations that are specifically repealed and replaced appear in this

table. It may not reflect the entire

history of regulations on this subject matter.