No relief in sight

Power Corp. expected to seek rate increase Richard Gleeson

Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Feb 26/01) - Get ready: power prices are likely going up, again.

As the cost of electricity in communities relying on diesel generators continue to mirror the climbing trend in world oil prices, there's little relief in sight for Northern consumers.

Power Prices: Sample residential base rates (cents per kilowatt hour) Diesel communities Wha Ti 49.44 Aklavik 40.07 Tsiigehtchic 64.81 Sachs Harbour 62.56 Fort Simpson 29.81 Hydro communities Yellowknife 15.22 Fort Smith 10.14 Rae-Edzo 12.25 Other communities Inuvik 29.55 Norman Wells 29.55

"Over the past 12 months or so (world oil prices have) only been going in one direction, and that's up," said Northwest Territories Power Corp. spokesperson Peter Watt.

As a result, the corporation will be asking the NWT Public Utilities Board (PUB), which is responsible for setting power rates, to approve an increase in power rates in the coming months.

Under the process used to review rates, the board first determines how much more revenue the corporation will need, then how that increase will be borne by power consumers across the NWT.

The corporation plans to send its rate application to the PUB in two weeks, said Watt. That will trigger the first part of the rate review.

Watt would not say how much of an increase the corporation will seek.

If approved, the increase would be the third price hike for diesel powered communities in less than two years. The previous two increases have been made on the rate rider, a charge used to maintain a fund that acts as a buffer against bouncing fuel prices.

The corporation started charging the rate rider last July, when rising fuel prices put the fund in a $2 million deficit.

The 3.4 cents per kilowatt hour customers were charged proved insufficient as fuel prices continued to rise and the rider was increased to 9.9 cents/kwh in December.

Communities on hydro experienced no price hike during the same period.

Taking into consideration the territorial power support program, the rider increase added another $29.70 to the power bill of a household using 1,000 kwh.

Though both the territorial government, in the case of municipal governments, and the federal government, in the case of consumers, have provided some funding to offset the rising price of heating fuel, neither is offering any relief for rising power prices.