Mr. Speaker, as we heard from several Members in this House regarding electrical rate reviews, I think it’s important to realize that the high cost associated with anyone’s billing, regardless if you are a homeowner, a resident, a business operator or even a community government, is the high cost of energy in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that this government is going in the right direction with regard to electrical rate review and we have to find a way of bringing down those high electrical bills, especially in our smaller communities where we are paying in excess of $2.38 per kilowatt in Colville Lake and in Nahanni Butte I believe it’s $1.60 per kilowatt.
Mr. Speaker, we also have to realize that we have some 30 rate rider systems in place. We have 38 applications that we have to go through every time there’s a rate review. Mr. Speaker, that is a major cost to not only the Government of the Northwest Territories but to the residents of the Northwest Territories who have to pay the cost of those reviews. I believe we have to find a way to reduce those high cost expenditures in small communities. I believe that we should seriously review this in this House, hopefully sooner than later, and find a solution to the high energy costs in our communities and find a system that’s fair to all communities in the Northwest Territories, to ensure that we are able to show that we really care as a government for the communities that are not on hydro and are dependent on diesel transported into their communities and stored in fuel tanks and used to heat their homes.
We don’t have apartments in our communities. We have, in most cases, single dwellings where people have to operate a housing unit, which costs a lot more than in large urban centres where there are apartment blocks with 70 or 80 residents who share the cost to operate the facility. I think it’s appropriate we, as the people responsible for the Legislature, seriously realize the implication that power has, the consumption of power, and the cost to sustain the residences in the small communities.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement
---Unanimous consent granted.
