NTPC wants higher power rates
Most residents could see nearly three-per-cent increase on portion of electricity bill
Kirsten Fenn
Northern News Services
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Residents of the Northwest Terriories could soon see another increase in their electricity costs.
NTPC has requested an interim power rate increase of four to five per cent, depending on where residents live, starting April 1. - NNSL file photo
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The Northwest Territories Power Corporation asked the Public Utilities Board last month to raise residential power rates by four to five per cent in 2017-18, and again in 2018-19.
That's according to the executive summary of the power corporation's second phase of its general rate application.
For most NWT residents, including Yellowknifers, that would mean a 2.65-per-cent increase on a portion of their monthly electricity bill in the first year, and 2.68 per cent the year after, the summary shows.
For residents in the Taltson zone, which includes Fort Smith and Fort Resolution, those increases would be 4.69 per cent in the first year and 4.71 per cent the year after.
Belinda Whitford, chief financial officer for the power corp, explained that energy bills include two parts: a fixed $18 customer rate, plus a fee per kilowatt hour. The increases will only affect the fee per kilowatt hour.
"We're holding customer rates constant," Whitford said.
The utilities board will decide whether to allow the rate increases after public hearings are held this July.
In the meantime, Whitford said the power corp. has asked the board to apply the four to five per cent power rate increases temporarily, starting April 1.
"The (board) has the authority to set the rates," Whitford said. "We're hoping we get a decision on the 30th or 31st (of March) about the interim rate increase."
Last June, the power corp. applied for the first phase of its general rate application and was granted an interim power rate increase of 4.8 per cent between Aug. 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017.
That increase translated to an extra $10 a month for residents consuming 1,000 kilowatt hours a month in the winter.
"We have had a decrease in sales over the last few years," Whitford said, explaining why the power corp. is requesting the rate increases. "We're collecting less revenue to cover our costs."
Aging infrastructure has also added to the problem, she said.
"As part of a phase two (of the general rate application), there's also rebalancing," Whitford said.
The territorial government wants to see customers paying within 90 to 110 per cent the cost of providing power. Because customers in some rate zones pay less than that, and are subsidized by the government, the power corp. wants to increase their power rates by a higher percentage than other rate zones already paying within the 90 to 110 per cent range.
The goal is to eventually have residents in all zones pay closer to the true cost of supplying power there.
The Taltson zone, for example, could see a five-per-cent increase because it is below that range.
But some businesses could actually see a decrease in electricity costs if NTPC's general rate application is approved, Whitford said.
Commercial customers in the Snare zone, which includes Behchoko and Dettah, could see an approximate six-per-cent decrease in the rate they pay per kilowatt hour over the next two years, according to the general rate application summary.
