Ousted NTPC chairman says he 'understands rationale' for decision

The ousted chairman of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation says he "understands the rationale" for the territorial government's decision to replace the corporation's board of directors with six deputy ministers, a move which will save the corporation about $1 million a year.

"It's not up to me to agree," said David Tucker, who has been on the board since 2009. "The shareholder owns the corporation, the shareholder appoints directors, and it's entirely at their discretion who they appoint."

Minister Louis Sebert, who is responsible for the power corporation, announced the shakeup during a news conference Wednesday, saying the move was partially made due to the power corporation's reclassification as a government organization, meaning it is no longer operating at arm's length.

Tucker said having government representatives on the board — rather than members of the business community — makes sense.

"Coordination probably is easier if the deputy ministers are directly involved as the board members," said Tucker. "Doesn't change the structure of the corporation, doesn't change the management of the corporation, it just eliminates an intermediary step.

"So I can certainly see the rationale in what they've done."

'We don't need another organizational review'

Mike Bradshaw, the executive director of the Northwest Territories Chamber of Commerce, says that he wasn't surprised by the news, saying that the matter "has been hanging around the Northwest Territories for at least five or six years.

"There were discussions a few years ago about converting NTPC from a crown corporation into a government department, and this may be the first step in putting together a governance model that's driven by deputy ministers," said Bradshaw, who was previously the director of communications and government relations for the NT Hydro Group of Companies, which included the power corporation.

Bradshaw didn't offer anything in terms of predictions for the future of the corporation, saying that "it's pretty early days," but did offer a prescription.

"We don't need another organizational review of the power corporation," he said. "We've had three in the past seven years. They're expensive and they all arrive at the same conclusions: that despite its operating overheads, it's pretty well run. There's no easy answer to electricity costs, or even energy costs in their totality in the Northwest Territories. There's a small market, low demand.

"I would suggest though, that if this new board wants to discuss expectations and issues, particularly with the private sector, that they put that at the top of their agenda. There are some very knowledgeable people here in the Northwest Territories with respect to energy production and distribution."