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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Yellowknife's power supplier wants to recover costs from customers, money it says was spent responding to the NWT's power watchdog after the utility company was ordered to pay back money to customers who say they were overcharged.

Northland Utilities has asked the NWT Public Utilities Board to set up deferral accounts to record the costs associated with complying with the board's inquiry earlier this year and for following through on the regulatory board's 18 directives, handed down on April 24.

The board inquiry was launched last February after several Northland customers in Yellowknife complained that their power bills inexplicably skyrocketed during the winter.

In a letter dated May 5, David Freedman, regulatory director for Northland Utilities, wrote that the board's orders to revise Northland's billing system and reimburse three customers with high consumption rates were unanticipated costs which were not included in the latest general rate application.

"Only in this way will Northland be kept whole and the rates authorized by the board be fair and reasonable," wrote Freedman.

The deferral accounts would allow Northland Utilities to record the costs associated with the work so they could be "ultimately recovered."

Jerome Babyn, spokesperson with ATCO - parent company of Northland Utilities - said the costs associated with revising the billing system and updating the website, for instance, will have a large impact on customers. He said any costs incurred by the company to revamp its system would eventually be passed on to - and recovered from - customers.

"We obviously have some concerns with how we are going to meet some of the directives that have been put forward," he said.

"When you start changing systems, it can be quite expensive," he added, although he could not provide a dollar figure on how much implementing the directives will cost the company.

Babyn said the company has 30 days to respond to the utility board's order, and will use the time to consider whether to appeal parts of it.

Babyn said the company may appeal the directive to partially reimburse customers who had their consumption rates jump.

"We have concerns that you are going to start reimbursing customers for costs that they have actually incurred and that would come at the cost of other customers, I guess," he said.

Babyn said the customers have not been reimbursed to date.

Joe Acorn, chairman of the Public Utility Board, said he will not comment on the letter until the board decides on the matter.

He said the use of deferral accounts is not unusual, but would not say whether they were suitable in this instance.

Acorn said deferral accounts are set up so companies can track their costs for a specific project.

The account then goes to the board at the next general rate application, and if approved, the costs would be recovered over a specific time period from customers.

Michelle Beckwith, one of the customers pegged for a reimbursement after her power inexplicably tripled last winter, said it didn't surprise her Northland is trying to recoup its costs from the inquiry.

"I can't believe that they are still even arguing it," she said. "It's not like they are losing a whole bunch of money. It's not like half of Yellowknife is getting refunds or anything."

Beckwith, who now lives in Edmonton, said she won't even receive money from Northland Utilities as a result of the reimbursement. The utility board's orders will simply reduce the amount she owes.

She said the total amount owing on her bill is still hovering around $2,000.