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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Yellowknifers voicing their opinion at last week's electricity review forum made it clear they are unhappy with the current system.

Roughly 30 people turned up to the discussion at the Tree of Peace last Thursday to give their views on what changes they would like to see in the provision of electricity in the NWT.

Doug Ritchie, program director for Ecology North discusses his concerns at the electricity review forum held last Thursday at the Tree of Peace. - Cara Loverock/NNSL photo

"It's something we hear a lot," said Doug Matthews, member of the three-person electricity review team, of the frustration many in the territory have over electricity rates.

The team also includes Mark Cleveland and Gerry Forrest. Yellowknife is the seventh of nine communities the team will travel to in order to collect feedback through their "Electricity, regulation, rates and subsidy programs in the NWT" forums.

Matthews discussed one of the proposed changes currently being considered - a territorial-based rate for electricity use. This would mean for the first 700 kW-h used, every resident in the NWT would pay the same base rate, he explained.

Once the floor was opened to questions and comments from the audience, it focused mainly on two issues - cost and the environment.

"As soon as we reduce our consumption, rates go up," said Yellowknifer Garth Eggenberger. "No matter how much energy I save, my costs are going to go up."

City counsellor David Wind also commented on the matter, saying "This thing is working absolutely backward."

Using less should mean paying less, he said.

"The cost of living in the North has to be kept low, or as low as possible," said Jon Jaque.

He said low costs would be an incentive for more people to move to the territory.

"Increasing power costs will only act to drive people away in the long run."

Resident Tasha Stephenson said a one-rate system would be a mistake and would not be environmentally-friendly.

"One rate across the board, if it were implemented, would do a lot more damage ... You lose the incentive, even with rising fuel costs, to conserve," she said.

Doug Ritchie, program director for Ecology North, discussed many of his concerns, saying the territory needs to reduce its use of diesel, as well as "really look at trying to make our subsidies smarter."

All the input from the meetings will be put into a discussion paper the team hopes will be finished this summer. The two final stops for the electricity review team are Fort Resolution and Behchoko.