Mr. Speaker:
WHEREAS electric power is an essential service;
AND WHEREAS power rates across the Northwest Territories are presently established on a community-by-community basis in accordance with Public Utilities Board direction set in the mid-1990s;
AND WHEREAS the current structure results in small communities that depend on diesel-generated power paying exorbitant and unstable rates;
AND WHEREAS power rates are one of the main drivers for the high cost of living in small communities, and discourage local economic development;
AND WHEREAS residents of these communities are doubly burdened because they must also indirectly pay the high power costs passed on to them by businesses such as grocery stores;
AND WHEREAS the current Territorial Power Subsidy Program is not adequate or sustainable for these communities;
AND WHEREAS the complexity of the existing rate structure increases regulatory costs, which are also passed on to consumers;
AND WHEREAS the current rate structure does not allow upfront capital costs for small projects, such as micro-hydro, to be spread over the system, making investment in more environmentally sustainable energy generation difficult to put in place;
AND WHEREAS the 16th Legislative Assembly has
agreed that one of its priorities is to pursue initiatives to reduce the cost of living, and in particular energy costs, in support of the goal of sustainable, vibrant and safe communities;
AND WHEREAS other Canadian jurisdictions have implemented levelized power rate zones in place of community-by-community rates;
AND WHEREAS legislation in both the Yukon and Nunavut allows the territorial governments to provide direction to the utilities boards;
NOW THEREFORE, I move, seconded by the hon. Member for Nahendeh, that this Legislative Assembly strongly recommends that the Government initiate the necessary policy changes, and bring forward the necessary legislative amendments, to make possible the consideration of
levelized power rates for the Northwest Territories at the time of the NWT Power Corporation’s next General Rate Application;
AND FURTHER, that this Legislative Assembly strongly recommends that these legislative amendments include, if necessary, changes to the Public Utilities Act which would give the Government authority to provide direction to the Public Utilities Board;
AND FURTHER, that this Legislative Assembly strongly recommends that the Government instruct the NWT Power Corporation to base its next General Rate Application on a levelized rate structure;
AND FURTHERMORE that this Legislative Assembly recommends the Government provide a response to this motion within 120 days.