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Miltenberger: The NWT Power Corporation needs to be redesigned

The Northwest Territories Power Corporation needs to be redesigned to meet current needs
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The NWT is in distress in many ways, as the continued increases to the already high cost of living, including energy, are fast becoming a crushing, unsupportable burden for all residents and the GNWT itself. Continuing to spend more and more money the same way, trying to solve the problems that are only getting worse, shows a lack of vision and clarity that does a disservice to the NWT. The GNWT needs to redesign Northwest Territories Power Corporation to become a more efficient public utility.

The federal government initially set up the Northern Canada Power Commission in 1948. We bought the NWT portion of that in 1988 and moved the headquarters north as originally designed. Much of that design still exists today. NTPC is not as effective, efficient or economical as a public utility in the 21st century needs to be. Nimbleness, clear strategic thinking and planning looking forward as opposed to trying to hang on to the past are what is required.

Here are some examples of why the status quo is not working and why a thorough review and rebuild of NTPC by northerners is required:

1. In the years before 1988 it was determined that Yellowknife and Hay River were the only communities where money could be made selling power, so ATCO/Northlands took over distribution. All the other communities in the NWT were left to NTPC. For decades now, millions of northern dollars have flowed south into ATCO’s corporate coffers in Calgary. This situation currently exists in Yellowknife. In 2014, Hay River voted not to renew the Northlands franchise, a decision Northlands has tried for years to overturn because it is such a lucrative revenue stream.

2. Headquarters costs, as outlined in the 2018 General Rate Application, are approximately $33 million/per year. This works out to a per capita share for Fort Smith of $1,400, while the per capita costs for other communities range from $550 for Yellowknife to $1,070 for thermal communities. The headquarters costs are too high (like the rest of the GNWT) and the per capita distribution of these is inconsistent and unfair.

3. NTPC does the barest minimum when it comes to investing in renewables other than hydro. Fort Chipewyan has installed over two megawatts of solar energy infrastructure, while all of NWT saw an embarrassingly meagre 0.5 MW of solar installed, according to the GNWT energy report.

4. NTPC inflates the costs of renewable projects to make them look too expensive, for example, the cost of the three Diavik wind turbines out in the middle of the barren lands was $29 million for 9.2 MW while the 1 Inuvik 3.5 MW turbine has been costed at $70 million so far and the turbine is not even up yet.

5. The proposed Fort Providence hydro line will cost upward of $60 million or more for the modest demand in Providence of four million kWh. At NTPC’s rate of return on investment of eight per cent that would mean that this plan would require in excess of six million dollars per year payback, makes no fiscal sense at all. A far better solution is a four-megawatt solar array including batteries for $12 million, which the community could own.

6. NTPC has no plan that makes any sense to meet the greenhouse gas emission reductions for our communities.

7. The Pine Point shutdown in 1986 freed up nine MW of hydro. To this day NTPC has failed to create a good electric heating sales plan for that surplus power, which could have generated over $100 million in that time, instead it poured all that potential revenue over the Taltson dam.

8. Despite the multi-billion dollar cost overruns and delays of Muskrat Fall and Site C, NTPC and the GNWT continues to mortgage our energy future on the billion-dollar-plus Taltson expansion. We cannot afford this plan and it does nothing for the diesel-dependent communities up and down the Valley.

The 19th Assembly is in pre-election mode and will not be taking on any new initiatives, though this issue can be flagged as a priority for the incoming 20th Assembly. All those running for election can push for a northern rebuild of NTPC to help tackle the crushingly high cost of living in the NWT as they campaign for our votes. The final point, any redesign of NTPC should be done in the north, by northerners for northerners.