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KANGIQTUGAAPIK/CLYDE RIVER - Nunavut is blessed with 24-hour sunshine for much of the spring and summer, so Nick Illauq, a municipal council member in Clyde River, is asking why the hamlet is being charged by the Nunavut Power Corporation (NPC) for streetlights that are running during sunny days.

Clyde River municipal councillor Nick Illauq is concerned about the state of deteriorating power poles and the aprons holding them in his community. The Nunavut Power Corporation has not been expedient in their dealing with these matters, said Illauq. - photo courtesy of Nick Illauq

"They charge us for lights in town that are totally useless in the spring and summer," he said.

"We're tired of paying their high bills. We're tired of paying for electricity we don't need."

Rates for each streetlight per month vary from $46.18 a month with 100-watt bulbs to $120.54 a month with a 400-watt bulbs.

Illauq estimated that 25 to 30 per cent of the hamlet's streetlights are on during the day.

The community has around 50 streetlights, he said.

At the lowest watt rate, and by low-balling Illauq's guesses, the lights running over the course of the summer are costing the hamlet more than $500 a month.

He said council has asked NPC many times to shut off the streetlights in the spring and summer when there is no need for them.

"Since they are making money, they let it go," he said.

He added this is a problem in many Nunavut communities and said for hamlets, any money they can save is vital.

Illauq said the corporation threatened to cut off the hamlet's power last Monday.

An NPC spokesperson said the hamlet's power bills are "severely in arrears."

"We have alerted them that they will need to pay the bill, and it is my understanding that our staff have been in touch with the hamlet to figure out a way to ensure the hamlet makes the payment," said Meghan McRae, spokesperson with the power corporation.

She added that there is a fixed rate for streetlights, which are averaged out over the year.

McRae also disputed claims that the lights were on all summer.

"The streetlights operate via sensor," she said, "so when it gets dark enough for the sensor, they will turn on."

She added if the lights were on, the sensors could be faulty or covered up in "raven crud."

"If the hamlet brought a particular concern regarding a light to our attention, we could look into it," she said.

Illauq said the hamlet has paid off nearly half of its $180,000 power bill in the last year.

He has asked the power corporation if they would consider installing LED lights, which use 70 per cent less energy than regular bulbs.

"They say they aren't responsible for that," Illauq said. "They don't even want to talk about it," he continued, adding that it would cost them money to install them.

He said the hamlet would buy the lights themselves, but NPC still did not budge, said Illauq.

McRae said the energy corporation began a program last October where LED streetlights were installed in Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit to see how durable the lights were in the far North, as they had yet to be tested in the harsh climate.

"Until we can ensure the capabilities of the LED streetlight technology in our climate, it wouldn't be responsible for the corporation to invest in them for all of our communities," she said.

Illauq said many of the hamlet's power poles are leaning forward due to the instability of the ground from permafrost displacement.

As well, Illauq is concerned with the deteriorating metal aprons holding up the poles, which pose safety hazards to children playing near or on them.

He said requests to have them fixed have not been addressed.

For now, Illauq said the hamlet will re-examine the way it consumes energy.

"We are more aware of how we use electricity and, in return, will reduce our energy consumption and the Nunavut Power Corporation will have to expect less profits for the future," said Illauq.

"We're going to really, really reduce it," he said of the energy consumption, adding that new staff housing will be built to conserve energy.

Illauq added the hamlet will share what they are doing with the rest of the communities on Baffin Island.