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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Facing the prospect of a 25 per cent power rate hike, many Yellowknifers want answers about why their lights and electronics aren't staying on.

Fifty-two power outages, ranging from a single customer to citywide, have been recorded since Jan. 1, said Dwayne Morgan, spokesperson for power distribution company Northland Utilities. He said the figure includes outages that were the NWT Power Corporation's responsibility.

According to the power corp., there were 30 outages of varying breadth that were the fault of its generation system between Sept. 1, 2011 and Aug. 31, 2012.

Thirty per cent of the time the power is out is due to "unknown reasons," the second highest amount after lightning, at 40 per cent, according to power corp. data.

The unexplained issues could includes interference by ravens or rodents where the animal could not be found, said Bob Kelly, communications manager for the power corp.

External interferences, such as branches, birds and rodents, account for 20 per cent.

Hydro-generation issues at the plant or along the transmission line account for 10 per cent of outages.

Brendan Bell, chair of the power corp., and Emanuel DaRosa, the utility's president and CEO, both declined to speak to Yellowknifer earlier this week.

While Morgan said Northland has no new initiatives planned to combat outages, the power distributor has ongoing measures aimed at minimizing outages. The measures include replacing all power substations to have less exposure to wildlife and elements, holding monthly meetings with the power corp. to discuss concerns, and conducting studies to improve various elements of the system.

After the power went out on Tuesday evening for approximately one hour, hundreds of frustrated Yellowknifers signed up to a Facebook group entitled "Yellowknifers want power .... or money." Group members are posting messages calling for answers or compensation. Others defend the power corporation's performance, saying that intermittent power is just one of the challenges of Northern living.

As of press deadline, the Facebook group had close to 600 members.

In a Sept. 4 press release addressing the recurring power outages in the city, the power corp. listed several initiatives it have either started or are planned in order to resolve problems in the system.

"After it became apparent that the issue was serious, it became obvious that we needed to take a very focused and concentrated look at the issue and apply the remedies we could to better resolve it," Kelly said. "We will never eliminate all interruptions but our commitment is to do the best we can to reduce the number and the duration of the frequencies of the outages."

Kelly said the list has since been expanded to 18 initiatives, including bringing in an external expert to ensure generators are optimally maintained.

Most power issues occur within the Bluefish power system, which has a transmission line 30 km long, compared to the Snare Hydro transmission line, which is 150 km long, Kelly said. He added that the infrastructure at Bluefish is 30 to 40 years old but that aging infrastructure has not been the cause of any power outages this year.

He said despite the age of the plant and the transmission lines, Kelly said they are not old enough to require replacement. He said he is uncertain whether power corp. has ever had discussions on upgrading Bluefish to be Yellowknife's main power source.

The power corporation is in the midst of replacing the Bluefish Dam. The $37.4 million project was originally estimated at $18.5 million

In a past interview with Yellowknifer, Kelly said the price difference for Bluefish was due to the short timeline the power corp. faced when submitting the application.

Michael Miltenberger, minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, declined to discuss the issue with Yellowknifer until he had spoken with power corp officials. As a result, he would not be available for an interview until Friday morning, at the earliest.

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