5 hours ago
32
North·New
In NTPC’s application, assorted efforts were included to rise energy rates. Several of those disbursal requests were denied oregon scaled back, including wage increases and costs tied to Taltson hydro works upgrades being delayed.
Public Utilities Board agrees with immoderate outgo items but denies others
Jocelyn Shepel · CBC News
· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 8:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago
The N.W.T.'s nationalist utilities committee has denied portion of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation's (NTPC) petition to summation rates, and directed it to chopped planned increases to absorption salaries and benefits.
Those are portion of dozens of directives the committee issued Monday successful a determination connected the powerfulness corporation's wide complaint application. Other requests the committee denied oregon scaled backmost included costs tied to the hold of upgrades to the Taltson hydro installation and severance costs.
NTPC's application, which was the taxable of a lengthy regulatory process and a proceeding successful April, has fluctuated in however much electricity rates could beryllium raised. Parts of the increase person antecedently been approved successful interim complaint decisions. NTPC is presently proposing a 15 per cent increase to energy rates.
Salaries and show wage increases cut
NTPC had argued its absorption salaries were rising little than inflation, but parties that weighed successful during the regulatory process pointed to information showing wage for apical unit was outpacing some ostentation and the wages of non-management employees.
The committee directed it to trim absorption salaries and benefits by $183,300 this year.
It besides directed it to chopped $306,000 successful planned increases to show wage for employees.
NTPC argued that show wage improves key areas similar strategy availability and lawsuit service, but the committee recovered NTPC had not provided capable grounds for however that benefited the public.
Costly hydro delays
NTPC's overhaul of the Taltson hydro plant, intended to regenerate diesel procreation successful the South Slave, has consistently been delayed the past fewer years owed to wildfire evacuations, wintertime operation complications,and mechanical issues. Powering South Slave hydro communities successful the meantime has outgo NTPC tens of millions of dollars worthy of diesel fuel.
NTPC projected passing those substance costs — $36 cardinal worth, which was astir 10 times what it had primitively budgeted for substance and which totalled about a 3rd of the full $115-million task — connected to customers, including costs driven by wildfire delays.
The board denied portion of this request.
It pointed retired astir $30 cardinal of the diesel costs were owed to operation delays from the Hay River occurrence successful 2023, and said if those costs were included successful energy rates, those rates whitethorn not "reflect the existent outgo of vigor delivery."
It allowed NTPC to retrieve the costs of substance that would person been incurred careless of the fire, which NTPC had primitively budgeted to beryllium astir $3.5 million.
The board warned that NTPC could suffer customers if these costs were a portion of rates.
It besides denied NTPC's petition to adhd an unexplained $700,000 worth to Taltzon portion supplies and services unless the powerfulness corp could adequately support doing so.
Utilities committee approves costs for hybrid committee of directors
In its application, NTPC besides included much than $500,000 successful caller costs related to its displacement to a hybrid board of directors that includes autarkic members. Since 2016, the committee has been made up of N.W.T. authorities officials.
"The summation of autarkic committee members is expected to supply a broader scope of perspectives, fortify committee capacity, and amended nationalist representation," NTPC wrote successful its application.
Interveners recommended that NTPC supply much grounds of expected and quantifiable benefits of a hybrid board.
The committee allowed the costs, nether the information that NTPC develops metrics to measure whether the hybrid committee improves governance, cost-efficiency, oregon task management. The committee requested those metrics beryllium included and reviewed during NTPC's adjacent wide complaint application.
NTPC indispensable present taxable a revised exertion reflecting each of the changes directed by the board, which volition past find last rates.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jocelyn Shepel is simply a newsman with CBC North. She antecedently worked successful B.C. and Ontario newsrooms earlier moving to Yellowknife successful 2024. You tin scope her astatine jocelyn.shepel@cbc.ca.
English (US) ·