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INUVIK
Residents won't be hit with new increased energy rates until after the Christmas holidays, according to officials at a Nov. 26 community town hall meeting on energy.

Kevin MacKay said Inuvik Gas is trying to connect with customers in order to get permission to install heat trace and insulation around meters and above-ground gas risers, which is a necessary measure to ensure uninterrupted synthetic natural gas service. - Danielle Sachs/NNSL photo

Previously, the increase was expected to happen in December but Inuvik Gas is now proposing the rate increase start Jan. 1.

The proposal still needs to be reviewed by the Public Utilities Board (PUB).

Residents are currently paying $19.30 per gigajoule for natural gas. However, the town is running out of the fuel and has had to look to alternative sources. The solution for now will be to use synthetic natural gas (SNG), a mixture of air and propane, which has an expected price tag of $37 per gigajoule.

Randy Hughes of ATCO Energy Solution said the propane will be purchased through a request-for-proposal process that the town will help set up.

"They will review the bids as they come in and make sure that the amount and the type of propane that we're getting and the cost is as competitive as possible," he said.

Hughes was joined by Kevin MacKay, general manager of Inuvik Gas, Gerry Roy, chief legal officer of the Inuvialuit Petroleum Corporation, Colin Nikiforuk, general manager of Ikhil Joint Venture, and GNWT employees Mike Burns and Peter Clarkson.

The men spoke to a group of only about five people gathered at the Midnight Sun Complex for the town hall meeting. More than 150 residents showed up at the last meeting to share their concerns.

Dave Kaufman, a resident and business owner, told the panel he thinks the low turnout was due to a lack of advertising.

"For this meeting all I saw was one ad in the Drum giving four days' notice. I think that's pretty poor. This to me is a really important topic to Invuik. To hold a town meeting with four days' notice on one little advertisement really doesn't seem to cut the mustard," said Kaufman, later adding he thinks they should have rescheduled the meeting.

There are a lot of residents who are concerned about how they will be able to manage the rate hike, Kaufman continued. The GNWT and the town should work together to support the people of Inuvik.

"I'm really afraid if you guys don't sit down and work this out and make it economically viable for people to stay in this town, they won't," Kaufman said. "I raised a family here. I've lived here 27 years. I don't want to leave."

In response to Kaufman's comments, MacKay said anybody who thinks they are going to have a problem paying the increased costs can come by to see him and work something out.

Also, Mayor Floyd Roland told the crowd they shouldn't expect the territorial government to come to the rescue.

"If we go to the (GNWT) I can guarantee the response, 'Look at your neighbours and what they're paying'," Roland said. "So we've got to come up with a solution that works for us."

Officials have looked at a number of solutions to the energy crisis, including taking requests for proposals for natural gas supply, tapping into the South Parsons Lake gas reserve, the Umiak gas reserve or the Tuktoyaktuk gas reserve, exploring liquified natural gas options, and trucking in compressed natural gas.

At this point none of the options are feasible, according to Nikiforuk.

In the meantime, Inuvik Gas is working on making modifications to its system so SNG can be used. First, they checked to make sure all customer appliances were able to run on SNG. No problems were reported.

Second, they are working on connecting with their 920 customers in order to get permission to install heat trace and insulation around meters and above-ground gas risers, which is a necessary measure to ensure uninterrupted SNG service. The company is aiming to have the work completed by Dec. 14.

"We do really need to get this done before Christmas because we need to be set up, ready to go back on the synthetic natural gas when the Dempster opens and we can start bringing propane back up the highway," MacKay said. "If you know about somebody who is away, if your neighbour hasn't been booked for an appointment, please do what you can to get them to call us because we do need everybody to participate."

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