Memo shows feds concerned QEC not ready to power High Arctic Research Station by 2017
Agreement eventually reached between INAC and QEC on Cambridge Bay electricity
An agreement between the federal government and Nunavut's electricity corporation settles any lingering concerns over how to power a $250-million Arctic research station in time for its opening, says the Canadian High Arctic Research Station's chief engineer.
The research station is currently under construction in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, where it is expected to double the power requirements in the community of 1,700.
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The agreement signed in March comes after the Canadian government had concerns about the ability of Nunavut's electricity corporation to power CHARS.
At standard electricity rates set by the Qulliq Energy Corporation, CHARS's annual energy bill is estimated at $900,000.
And though QEC originally said powering the research station would be "no issue," a November 2015 memo between a director with Public Service and Procurement Canada and the department's associate deputy minister highlights QEC's "lack of capacity" to power CHARS by the 2017 deadline.
"Through early discussions with QEC the CHARS project team was made aware of a planned upgrades and relocation of the Cambridge Bay power plant; QEC indicated at that time there would be no issues in servicing CHARS in 2017," wrote Steve Kelly, the regional director general for the western region with Public Service and Procurement Canada, to the department's associate deputy minister.
The memo was obtained by CBC News under Access to Information.
Upgrades years away
It's not clear if the federal government anticipated the upgrades would be complete in time for the opening of the research station. A spokesperson with QEC said the energy corporation is planning to build a new power plant in Cambridge Bay but the project is in initial stages.
According to the memo, the federal government was informed it would still be years before the upgrade would take place.
"In August 2015, QEC advised the project team that the planned upgrades were still seven years away and the planned load for the CHARS would exceed QEC's capacity – it is estimated that the CHARS will nearly double the power consumption in Cambridge Bay," Kelly wrote.
Earlier this year QEC issued a request for proposal for a geotechnical evaluation for a $2 million modular power plant for Cambridge Bay to cover the additional power requirements of CHARS.
Prior to issuing the proposal and according to the memo QEC had asked the federal government for about $2.5 million to help cover the costs to power CHARS.
According to Kelly, QEC asked Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), the federal department responsible for construction of the station, to sign the agreement by September 2015, in time to ensure the generator could make it way north by sealift.
Kelly informed the associate deputy minister INAC was not ready to sign the agreement as it's "exploring other options" including instructing CHARS's design consultant to come up with an interim power solution.
"INAC's objective is to integrate seamlessly into the community, including not causing brown outs or utility cost increases as a result of the new Crown facility," Kelly wrote.
Agreement reached
Since the November memo, INAC has signed a memorandum of understanding between itself and QEC, setting out that the energy corporation will be responsible to meet the energy needs of CHARS.
"Our focus is ensuring that our requirements will be met and through our work with Qulliq Energy. We have those assurances now," said Matthew Hough, the chief engineer of CHARS.
"If needed, we would ensure our requirements would be met but it's always been our approach to integrate into the community."
Part of the agreement between INAC and QEC includes a $500,000 contribution by the federal department toward upgrading generation capacity in the town and $175,000 toward a new transmission line from the power plant to CHARS.
The final part of the agreement will allow QEC and INAC to work together on future energy infrastructure needs in Cambridge Bay.
"That could include energy conservation, energy use, emission studies, community education initiatives and sustainable and alternative energy generation," Hough said.
