The Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) has partnered with the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) to ensure there is power in case of any pandemic-related disruptions.
The agreement, signed last week, will permit NTPC to request aid from other utilities across Canada if additional resources are needed to maintain power, the GNWT said in a news release on Tuesday.
ATCO, the main shareholder of Northland Utilities Limited and Northland Utilities Limited, had previously signed the agreement.
NTPC and ATCO have agreed that the CEA deal will be used to govern any mutual aid needed by either organization during the pandemic and in the future.
“As a small utility, our ability to respond to a significant outage or to maintain operations during a public health emergency can be impeded by the availability of appropriately-trained workers,” Said Noel Voykin, president and CEO of NTPC. “This agreement ensures that we can reach out to our colleagues for assistance if needed.”
Any help required through the agreement will be provided and paid by the company giving the assistance. There will only be costs if assistance is needed.
A similar announcement was made last week when the NTPC said it would stop using its utility limiters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(A)ll limiters will be removed as quickly as practical to ensure no customers suffer undue hardship during the pandemic,” the company said in a news release.
Another utility-relief announcement came on Monday when Northwestel said it would give temporary reprieve for residential customers in Northern Canada for data overage in March and April.
Northwestel, a subsidiary of Bell, said the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission had approved its most recent application for overage relief for customers, as part of the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.