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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Fed up city residents have converged on Facebook to vent their frustration with the numerous power outages the city has endured this year.

Ed But, owner of Coyote's Bar and Grill, is frustrated with the number of power outages this year. He says the lack of consistent power hurts his business. - Sara Wilson NNSL photo

The group "Yellowknifers want power ...OR MONEY!," which exploded to 594 members as of Thursday afternoon, is calling for an explanation for the outages from the NWT Power Corporation and Northland Utilities.

"A friend of a friend had said, 'Somebody should start a Facebook group about this,' and her thought was that maybe the power company should give back to each customer $10 to $15 per power outage," said Mindy Frost, founder of the Facebook group.

"Some like the idea of a rebate, and others just want reliable power. They want to know why it goes out so often. Our power rates are really high, so we pay for this power ... we should get it."

Describing minor inconveniences and larger problems affecting work deadlines and the operation of businesses, users of the group are clearly fed up.

"This is reflective of a general problem that permeates this town when it comes to customer service. Too often suppliers have the attitude of "Oh well, what can you do ... it's Yellowknife," one Facebook user posted. "Whether it's serving coffee or providing power, the customer should be catered to, just like everywhere else in the world that has long since understood this very basic rule of customer service. It's not acceptable for power to go out two to three times a week."

Arguably affected the most are Yellowknife's businesses, which are also voicing frustration over the unreliable power.

Situated on Range Lake Road, Coyote's Bar and Grill uses different power lines than its nearest competitors, who fared better during the most recent power outage on Tuesday evening, as they usually do, said Coyote's owner Ed But.

But vented his frustration with not being able to compete while waiting for the power to come back on.

"Because we're on newer power grid, we're usually the last ones to get the power so it's really frustrating," he said. "The other place ... across the street from us, gets power, and we're sitting here twiddling our thumbs, waiting."

With a city election right around the corner, the power issue is on the radar of the city's mayoral candidates.

"At some point enough is enough, the city has got to stand up on this," said Paul Falvo, who is seeking the mayor's seat.

An agreement is in place with Northland Utilities to distribute the city's power, and Falvo believes when the time comes to renegotiate the contract, more attention needs to be paid to solving the problem.

"We've got to look at having incentives for keeping the power on or penalties for keeping it off," he said.

In addition to a penalty system, an independent review of power corp. operations might also be needed, according to Falvo.

Transparency is one of the key issues for Tim Doyle, who would like to see the power corporation enter into discussions with its ratepayers.

"We need to know why we're paying such high rates to catch up. They are saying it's cost of living from years past, but nothing has improved in terms of the infrastructure," Doyle said. "We're not connected to the Alberta utility lines so there's no backup either. When the system goes down, it goes down."

Deputy mayor Mark Heyck believes that more discussions with the Public Utilities Board and the GNWT is the answer to solving the city's power problems.

"The city has the ability - and has done so every time there is a rate application - to intervene, and I think the case could be made in that form that we want more done to have reliable power for Yellowknife," Heyck said.

"There's also an opportunity, working with the territorial government, to make the case that they should be investing more through the power corp. in improving the reliability of the system."

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