NTPC looking to increase cost of power across the N.W.T. by 18%

The Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) is asking to increase the cost of power for all of its customers by nearly 18 per cent, a significant jump it's chalking up to "major issues" that are beyond its control. 

"NTPC has made every effort to keep rates as low as possible for customers," said Cory Strang, the corporation's president and CEO, in a statement on Thursday. "But we are facing major issues such as extreme low water and high diesel prices." 

On top of that, the corporation says it's dealing with inflation and some of the largest capital projects in its history — like the overhaul of the Taltson hydro facility that has ballooned to $97 million. 

NTPC, which is owned by the N.W.T. government through NT Hydro, filed an application to increase power rates to the Public Utilities Board on Wednesday. It says this latest request, paired with an interim rate increase of seven per cent that was approved and took effect in the summer, works out to an overall increase of 24.8 per cent.

The increase would be phased in over the next year, NTPC said, and it suggests the increase be across the board, affecting all types of customers in all three of its zones.

It will be up to the Public Utilities Board to decide whether the change is reasonable. 

NTPC is the main generator and transmitter of power in the N.W.T. It sells part of its power to Naka Power which, in turn, sells it to residents and businesses in the Hay River and Yellowknife areas. In most of the rest of the territory, NTPC also distributes the power it generates.

In a statement issued Thursday morning, Infrastructure Minister Caroline Wawzonek said the territory understands what these increases mean for households and businesses, and it's working with the power corporation to "keep rates as manageable as possible."  

Wawzonek said the territory has already tried to protect residents — and without those efforts, the proposed increase could have reached 45 per cent. She said the territory has provided $45.2 million in lower water relief and has made strategic investments in renewable energy to help stabilize costs. 

At the Legislative Assembly, Wawzonek talked about some of the circumstances that make the N.W.T.'s power system unique. It isn't connected to the North American grid, so it can't share electricity with other jurisdictions. The system also has two separate hydroelectric systems which aren't connected to each other, and 21 individual community power grids. 

Wawzonek said the territory will work with NTPC to try and increase its number of industrial customers and to try and find efficiencies and cost-saving opportunities in the corporation. 

She also pointed out that the Public Utilities Board manages the process by which electricity prices are set, and that that process has opportunities for community governments and the public to participate formally and informally.