NWT cites division and rising fuel costs
Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (May 11/01) - Yellowknife residents will likely see a $20 to $25 increase on their power bills within the next couple of months and may be hit with a similar rate jump within 18 months.
The Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) cited division between Nunavut and the NWT and rising oil prices as primary reasons for the price hike.
According to Judy Goucher, Chief Finance Officer for NWT Power, the company anticipates a revenue shortfall of more than $16 million dollars this year.
Rather than wait a year for the Public Utilities Board to grant final approval the company has asked for an interim rate increase that would take effect within the next couple of months.
"I don't see any way around this," Goucher said. "This is the best approach for our customers, to phase in the rate increases, rather than waiting until the end of the process and get a double hit."
The interim hikes will increase Yellowknife power rates by 2.17 cents a kilowatt, or roughly $20-25 dollars a household per month. The current rate for the city is 15.76 cents per kilowatt.
NWT Power will refund or apply a retroactive rate rider to the interim rate increase depending on the size of increase the utility board allows.
"It depends on the process," Goucher said. "I can tell you typically in a rate application, the utilities applying rarely get the 100 per cent of what's applied for.
"That's the whole process of talking things through with customers, saying 'if you want this service it will cost these dollars,'and maybe customers will say, 'well, we don't want that kind of service, we'd rather have lower costs.'"
