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Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services
The corporation says it miscalculated what it is owed for peak demand usage last year and is now asking the communities to pay up. In Cambridge Bay, for example, the extra charge is $7,500.
"Our hamlet has made a decision that we're not going to pay it," said Cambridge Bay Mayor Keith Peterson.
"Municipalities just don't have that kind of money laying around to pay bills a year after the fact."
Peterson is also president of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities. He said hamlets should not be forced to pay for Nunavut Power's mistakes.
Cambridge Bay is still receiving the same core funding from the Department of Community Government and Transportation as it was in 1996, before Nunavut became a territory.
"It's just money that we don't have," Peterson said.
Elwood Johnston, senior administrator for the hamlet and president of the Nunavut Association of Municipal Administrators, said the company's error "makes life a little bit miserable" for him.
"It's a surprise not just to me but to many other of the SAO's. It's ridiculous," he said.
Rick Blennerhassett, president of Nunavut Power, explained that a billing system put in place last year "couldn't correctly calculate the demand portion of the bill for large customers," such as hamlets.
He said the company has since corrected the problem, but is expecting the arrears to be paid in full.
In previous years, he said, hamlets always paid for peak demand usage and they should not expect this time to be any different.
"We're billing and asking for the arrears and they're saying they're not going to pay? Well, we have procedures and stuff in place to deal with that," he said.
The corporation's director of finance, Hazen Hawker, pointed out it's not just community governments who are facing bill adjustments.
"There were over 500 of them sent out for all the commercial customers -- commercial government, commercial non-government. The net total was over a million dollars for all the adjustments," said Hawker.
Hawker said some were hit with larger adjustments than others, but some were given refunds.
As for late fees, Hawker said the adjustments were mailed out in July and will not be considered in arrears for 45 days after the billing date.
John Walsh, deputy minister of community government, said his department has raised concerns about the issue with the Power Corporation.
"The initial indication that we have is that they're going to be somewhat flexible in terms of how it can be collected, but I'm not sure how long those terms will be extended or if there is going to be any forgiveness," said Walsh.
He said the fiscal year for municipalities ends March 31 and all outstanding bills are to be paid by then.
"Now they are going to have to pay for those costs from last year out of this year's funding and the funding that municipalities receive doesn't allow room for that flexibility," he said.
Johnston said he and other administrators will discuss their concerns with the Power Corp. and territorial government during their annual general meeting in Iqaluit Sept. 13 through 16.
