Hay River sticks with Northland
Terry Halifax
Northern News Services
Hay River (Mar 05/01) - A year of uncertainty has ended with smiles on the faces of workers at Northland Utilities.
Town council voted last week to renew a franchise agreement with Northland (NUL) when it expires July 1. Terms of the contract have yet to be negotiated.
The 14 employees at NUL's Hay River office are breathing a sigh of relief, said manager Duane Morgan.
"We saw the motion go through and obviously people are relieved; there are smiles on people's faces about it," Morgan said. "We've seen this take some twists and turns, so we are feeling cautiously optimistic."
Hay River council was on the verge of awarding the power distribution contract to NWT Power Corp. when the government stepped in to review power generation and distribution.
The town even considered buying NUL's assets for $18 million and running the utility itself.
Hay River Mayor Duncan McNeill said buying out NUL wasn't practical.
"The process was complicated and just everything involved said that there wasn't any real immediate benefits to the people of Hay River."
NUL has been the power provider in Hay River for 50 years and Morgan said they hope to secure the same agreement they've previously held with the town.
"We think a 10-year agreement would be best for all concerned," Morgan said.
McNeill said the town would prefer a shorter term, expecting legislative changes stemming from the GNWT power study will be introduced in the near future.
As for the franchise fee, he said council would like maintain the same fee they have, but still has to review details of the new agreement.
The current fee is $135,000 or four per cent of gross revenues.
"The citizens pay the fee; it's not likely we would be seeking an increase," said Morgan.
