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Cost of power to fall slightly
Previous shortfall collected by March 31 by Doug Ashbury
NNSL (Feb 11/98) - Lighting costs are about to get a little lighter in Yellowknife, Dettah and Rae-Edzo.
Costs will drop after April 1 because a 12-month charge, in the form of a Public Utilities Board-approved rider, will soon be collected.
The rider was set up so the NWT Power Corporation could cover revenue shortfalls resulting from 1995-96 and 1996-97 fiscal years.
In 1995, the Power Corp. applied to the Public Utilities Board for a rate increase but that took several months to be approved.
"It's not often that a power company can talk about costs coming down, so I'm pleased to confirm this reduction," Power Corp. president and CEO Leon Courneya said.
Courneya spoke Friday at a Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Explorer Hotel.
Wholesale cost of power to Northland Utilities (Yellowknife) Ltd. will drop by 2.8 per cent, Power Corp. said.
Giant Mine's bill will drop $193,000 a year, or 3.6 per cent.
Con Mine is unaffected because it operates under different contract conditions in its supply agreement with Power Corp.
The reduction will show up on individual and business electricity bills issued on or after April 1.
Power from the government-owned utility is distributed in Yellowknife through Northland.
The reduction totals $486,000 a year.
The rider will be completed by the end of March.
Courneya said there will also be a power rate reduction for Rae-Edzo and Dettah.
All other NWT communities will not see rates reduced, Power Corp. said. |