Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Snare Hydro plants serve Yellowknife, and the watershed area for that system is about 15,000 square kilometres. Since it extends up to 200 kilometres north and east of the Snare River, the conditions there are not necessarily those that we've seen in Yellowknife.
The corporation measures the snow pack in February and in April each year in the watershed to gauge what the likely run-off will be. This year, the gauging showed that the snowfall was about average in comparison to the past 18 years. By average, I mean the water content in the snow that fell over the winter.
We don't really know, though, until the spring run-off is complete, how much of that will end up in the reservoir. So the best indicator of what the condition in the reservoir will be won't be known until late June. So it's impossible to predict, at this point in time, whether or not there will be another low-water year in the Snare system and impossible to say whether or not there will be a need for a rate increase because of that low water.
I should advise the Member that the Public Utilities Board has advised the corporation that they will not consider a short-term rate increase in the future, and that a rate stabilization fund must be created for the Yellowknife zone. So any rates that we see will be permanent rates that will be set through the Public Utilities Board process from this time on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.