NB Power rates keep climbing
The retail rate in New Brunswick sits at 15.39¢/kWh as of April 14, 2026, and the long-run direction has been steadily up. When you own solar, you're insulating yourself from those increases: the power your panels make costs the same in year 20 as it does in year 1. In the ROI calculator I assume a 3% annual increase as a baseline — you can turn that up or down and watch the payback move.
You're buying 25+ years of power up front
A grid-tied solar system is really a way of pre-purchasing decades of electricity at today's price. Panels typically carry a 25-year performance warranty and keep producing well beyond that. Once the system has paid for itself — often somewhere around the ten-year mark for a well-suited roof — the power after that is effectively free.
Net metering makes the math work
New Brunswick's net metering rules let you bank summer surplus and draw it back down in winter at the same rate. That's what makes a roof-sized system practical here despite our long, dark Decembers. I've written the whole thing up on the net metering page, including the proposed 2027 change and what it might mean for your timing.
The environmental side
Every kilowatt-hour your roof makes is one NB Power didn't have to generate. It's a real reduction, and for a lot of my clients it's part of why they do this — but I'd never tell you to install a system that doesn't also make financial sense. The good news in New Brunswick is that it usually does both.
When I tell people not to bother
Solar isn't right for every roof. Heavy shade, a north-only roofline, or very low power usage can push the payback out past the point where I'd spend your money on it. I'd rather lose the sale than put panels somewhere they won't perform. If your situation is borderline, I'll say so plainly.
See your own numbers
The ROI calculator gives you a ballpark for a home in Fredericton, Moncton, Dieppe, Saint John, or anywhere in NB.
Try the ROI calculator →