INUVIK - Inuvik town council finally got its meeting with NWT Power Corp. officials and councillors did not hold back with questions and criticisms on Monday.

Coun. Nick Saturnino wasted no time asking the power corp. representatives why his utility bill has jumped $1,000 over the last three years.

Members of the NWT Power Corporation panel take questions from town council on Monday night. From foreground Brian Willows, Terrence Courtoreille and Mike Bradshaw. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

Members of the panel replied that the territorial government is currently looking at restructuring power rates and a report is expected to be released in June.

But Mike Bradshaw, director of corporate communications, defended the corporation, saying it's doing a good job keeping rates as low as possible.

"We're doing as well as any other utility in the country," he said. It was a message he and his colleagues returned to throughout the two-hour committee of the whole meeting.

Bradshaw said the power corp. has to deal with high capital costs associated with providing power in communities with small populations, which ultimately gets handed down to customers.

The panel made several references to a positive review done on the corporation recently, which they maintained was completely impartial, but several councillors disagreed.

Coun. Jim McDonald pointed out that one of the people who carried out the review was a former employee. He said the only way he'd be satisfied is if a review would be undertaken with no connection with the government, such as the auditor general's office.

"Maybe you are operating as efficiently as you can," said McDonald. "But if we could have an independent review of the corporation and it came to us that you are then maybe we could accept the cost of our power."

Coun. Terry Halifax said if the corporation keeps raising costs, Inuvik would be forced to disconnect from the grid and come up with its own electricity source.

That's something resident Tom Zubko is already doing. Zubko, who attended the meeting, currently powers his business, New North Networks, with his own gas generator, which saves him $2,000 to $3,000 a month on his utilities, he said.

"The bottom line is that there are very few places in the world where you can generate your own power cheaper than buying it from the grid," said Zubko.

The panel spoke little about developing green energy initiatives after being prodded by Coun. Vince Sharpe. Responding to a nuclear power plant presentation given to council and residents earlier this month, Brian Willows, the power corp.'s chief operating officer, said the idea piqued his interest but he gave no indication that the corporation is looking seriously at it.

But NTPC is planning to start a program benefitting costumers who produce their own "green" electricity whereby whatever electricity they produce can be put on the grid and credited to their account. The plan is currently awaiting approval from the Public Utilities Board, which is expected next month.

Councillors also said the corporation should make more of an effort to hire locally for trades positions and contract work, rather than outside the community, which often is the case.

Willows said the corporation currently has two local apprentices, adding that many of its apprentice programs go unfilled.

Council also complained about NTPC's habit of changing its local office hours, making it difficult for customers to pay bills.

The panel argued that it does its best to provide top quality service but it promised to look into trying to iron out any customer service wrinkles.

The panel also said corporation officials would try to meet with council on a more regular basis. The two sides last met several years ago.

Zubko said the corporation continues to ignore the obvious: that a territory-wide blended rate is needed, which would make it fairer on everyone.

"Everybody knows there's the right way to go and unfortunately politicians are too concerned about what happens in Yellowknife," he said. "For whatever reason they don't want to spend the capital on doing the right thing."