SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Cabinet minister Michael Miltenberger is threatening to pull the plug on the NWT Power Corporation after years of rising power rates and little hope of reversal.

Michael Miltenberger, the minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, addresses a room full of executives, policy-makers and members of the public during an energy roundtable at the Explorer Hotel on Monday night. Miltenberger asked some poignant questions during a 10-minute speech, which questioned whether the Northwest Territories Power Corporation should become a government department under direct control of the GNWT. - Cody Punter/NNSL photo

Miltenberger, the minister responsible for power corp., openly mused about the utility's demise while speaking before a room full of executives, policy-makers and members of the public attending an energy conference Monday night - the second in two years - organized to brainstorm ways of reducing the territory's reliance on diesel -fueled electricity.

Apologizing "for offending anybody," Miltenberger pointedly attacked power corp.'s reliance on government subsidies - to the tune of $80 million over the past three years - while failing to lower the cost of electricity in the territory.

"The power corporation could never survive as a revenue generator, charging what they charge," he told Yellowknifer after the meeting.

"If we hadn't given them this $80 million, I shudder to think what their rates would be."

Although the power corporation has gradually started to turn to greener energy sources as an alternative to hydro and diesel, Miltenberger pondered whether the power corporation was "properly structured as a utility in the 21st century."

"We have a system that we've inherited that's been built on two things: hydro and diesel," said Miltenberger.

He suggested the utility be taken over by the GNWT and made into a government department based on the premise that energy should be treated like an essential service, such as hospitals and water and sewers.

"A lot of things we invest in infrastructure, we don't make individual citizens pay for it," said Miltenberger.

"We don't charge people individually for the schools we build - that doesn't go on your taxes per se - any more than we charge people in Yellowknife $350 million because of (renovations to) Stanton (Territorial Hospital)."

While he believes the corporate structure is outdated, Miltenberger refused to criticize specific people in charge of power corp., including its chair Brendan Bell.

Bell, a former cabinet colleague of Miltenberger's, was appointed chair by former premier Floyd Roland in 2010 after an unsuccessful bid as a Conservative Party candidate for the Western Arctic. Bell is also executive vice-president of community affairs with Dominion Diamonds.

Power corp. has been making significant progress given its current constraints, said Miltenberger.

"It is not a reflection at all on the good work that the staff is doing, or the president is doing or the chairman is doing," Miltenberger said.

"We just need to look if we have the right corporate structure, organizational structure to meet all these demands."

Bell could not be reached for comment by press time, but Yellowknifer confirmed he did not attend the energy conference.

Miltenberger also put Northland Utilities on the hot seat when he asked whether it was fair for the distributor to purchase power from power corp. and then resell it to customers at more than triple the price.

"Is it acceptable to purchase wholesale power at 9.8 cents (per kilowatt/hour) and resell it at 34 cents (per kilowatt/hour)?" he asked the audience.

Among the other things that Miltenberger proposed was the possibility of switching to a single-tiered rate system from a two-tiered system for the territory dividing thermal and hydro-powered communities.

"Given the amount of subsidies the government gives to NTPC, is it time to switch to a one-rate zone?" he asked.

"It's not a simple question. There's a lot of work to be done, but it's something that bears discussion to look at how we can do things better."

Although Miltenberger didn't provide much in the way of specifics or answers to these questions Monday night, he said the government is committed to making significant changes in order to address the territory's rising energy costs.

"The world is changing under our feet," said Miltenberger. "We need to do more. The status quo is not an option."

- with files from John McFadden

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.