Thank you, Mr. McNeely. Minister Schumann.
Debates of Feb. 25th, 2019
This is page numbers 4981 - 5026 of the Hansard for the 18th Assembly, 3rd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was going. View the webstream of the day's session.
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Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Wally Schumann Hay River South
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The short answer is no. A number of years ago, there was a proponent that approached the Government of the Northwest Territories to do something in the NWT, but it didn't turn out to be a viable project. With the technology and with the depths they had to drill, it wasn't viable at that time, but the short answer is no. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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Daniel McNeely Sahtu
Nothing further there, Mr. Chair. That was just one that caught my eye that could be potential cost-savings for our buildings, as well as subsidizing the private sector buildings. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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Wally Schumann Hay River South
Thank you, Mr. Chair. When you look at our 2030 Energy Strategy, the way that we have laid that thing out, we have our three-year rolling plan going forward. The reason that we have done this is just because of new technologies and things changing out there. More study and more data is needed to better understand the geothermal resources in the Northwest Territories. With that being said, this is a 10-year plan rolled out by the federal government. There may be opportunities to have a look at the geothermal situation in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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Shane Thompson Nahendeh
Thank you, Mr. Chair. In regard to fuel services here, I noticed that, when the Minister talked about MTS, there was no budget line, but fuel services has a budget line. Isn't fuel services a revolving fund, as well? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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Mccormick
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, the line for fuel services is related directly to the amortization of the GNWT's assets that fuel services uses.
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Shane Thompson Nahendeh
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the Minister explain when our amortization of the tanks are going to be up? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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Mccormick
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't have a complete list of the tank farm assets in front of me right now. That equipment amortizes anywhere from 15 to 40 years, depending on the nature of the equipment. They will slowly drop off over a number of years, and as assets are upgraded or replaced, new amortization will hit the budget line. Thank you.
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Shane Thompson Nahendeh
Thank you, Mr. Chair. In regard to fuel services, I have noticed that we have had problems with MTS, given the High Arctic and that, with the smaller communities just recently, i.e., Wrigley. Has the cost gone up, or is it just because of the delivery costs that we have seen increases in fuel in the smaller communities? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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Guy
Thank you, Mr. Chair. There are a number of factors that go into the price of fuel. There is the actual wholesale cost of the fuel, which fluctuates throughout the year depending on when we buy it. Diesel fuel, as you will note, in the last year has been fairly volatile; it has been up and down. Gasoline, even, has had some variation, as well. That is one component. The other component is the transportation costs for trucking. Trucking costs are a factor, and if that goes up or goes down, depending on market conditions, that can have a factor to play, as well as our community contractor costs. All of our fuel is dispensed in the communities by private contractors contracted by the fuel services division, and in those cases, when those contracts come up and are renewed, sometimes there is an increase in the costs. That can contribute to the fuel costs even though the other components of the cost may be the same.
There are a number of things that go into what determines the final price of the fuel, and those things vary at different times in the cycle. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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Shane Thompson Nahendeh
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is this information shared? I know that this is the first I have seen about the contracts, but I have seen the other explanation as to why the costs go up. Have I missed the contracts as part of this? This is the first time I have seen it, so I may have missed it. I apologize, but is it there? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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Guy
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The community dispensing contracts and operating the tank farm contracts come up periodically. Every community is on a different cycle. They are usually two- or three-year contracts. We advertise them publicly. We give contractors in the community an opportunity to participate and respond and submit compliant bids. It depends on what the bid price is that comes in of the successful proponent, which is then factored into the price, and that can trigger a fuel price upgrade.
In some of the communities that are just subject to road delivery, we resupply a community, and there have a different price in the fuel if the price of wholesale fuel goes down or goes up. That can trigger a new price as well. We try to test the prices as soon as we have a new cost component available to input into the pricing. Thank you.
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Shane Thompson Nahendeh
Thank you. I appreciate that answer from the deputy minister. I know that, in Wrigley, we had to get fuel from the north part because of our ice conditions. Did that have an increase in the cost, or were we able to keep the cost where it was until we were able to ship in a new supply? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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