Thank you. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2023-2024, Department of Environment and Climate Change, operations expenditures, total department, not previously authorized, $12,042,000. Does committee agree?

Now turn to page 7. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2023-2024, Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, directorate, not previously authorized, $270,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2023-2024, Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, total department, not previously authorized, $270,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you. Now turn to page 8. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2023-2024, Department of Finance, operations expenditures, directorate, not previously authorized, $17,834,000. Does committee agree? Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, I'm glad I caught that, Madam Chair. So one of the items here is the Northwest Territories Power Corporation to provide funding for NTPC rates stabilization, costs of additional diesel costs for customers of $15 million. Can someone please explain this. Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So right now, Madam Chair, the rates that are built in were built at a time that reflect a much lower amount -- of price on diesel. So there's obviously a couple of drivers that are making that now no longer accurate. And what happens is there is a rate stabilization fund approach, which is a standard utility approach to help when there are costs overages of this nature. Of what that would do, it would create a rider and if there is a rider imposed, that would then of course raise the rates. Rather than have individual residents face increased rates at this time given, you know, the number of uncertainties and economic challenges around Canada for individuals over the last couple of years, we've proposed this solution here to have this one-time amount to help offset some of those costs and avoid the rider. And to be clear, Madam Chair, there's two main drivers here.

There's firstly, of course, the price of fuel, which I've mentioned. But also there's very low water levels in the Snare hydro system which I'm told does happen on a cyclical nature. But as a result of low water, of course we then have to burn more diesel to make up for that. So you're getting a double hit on the cost of fuel with that as well. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.

Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. So is this going to be required on an ongoing basis that the government is going to have to put $15 million into rate stabilization going forward? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is one-time finding to solve the problem for now. Madam Chair, I'm not going to pretend that the challenges of high fuel costs and rates are necessarily going away today, but there is another application in that is -- that is working its way through and that may help to provide some relief going forward. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.

Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. I think the real relief here is for NTPC to get off diesel and this is part of a bigger discussion, I guess. But this same thing happened in 2014 and there had to be huge money put into NTPC for rate stabilization at that point. So this just continues to happen again and again and again. And it's because -- I don't know, I've just -- NTPC should be focusing on doing itself out of a job and building, you know, energy self-sufficiency for communities and for households, and that's not what they're doing. They're trying to build big projects and maintain systems that are just completely outdated. What are we doing -- what is NTPC doing to try to get us out of this cycle of having to continually do rate stabilization fund payments from this government? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, it is challenging to be able to provide electricity to a very small number of ratepayers scattered across a very wide geographic region. Many, if not the vast majority, of which of those communities are not connected one to the other, let alone any of us, to any larger grid. So there certainly is -- we've heard announced today the Inuvik Wind Project is one project that is moving forward, that is looking for an alternative, to increase an alternative to diesel. And certainly to the extent that there might be some additional -- at some point we're going to hopefully get to a place with the Taltson hydro system and have that come forward. That would certainly provide the alternative to the Snare rather than having to burn diesel in what is otherwise supposed to be a hydro system. So there certainly are projects in the works. But there's, quite frankly I think, Madam Chair, a lot of work that needs to happen on every front looking for alternatives in every community but then the redundancy for projects, trying to link communities into these different systems, you know, trying to increase the number of corporate consumers and industrial consumers which really would drive rates down for the residential consumers, any one of a number of solutions, Madam Chair, this is -- this is a problem that is a large one. Thank you.

Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.

Yeah, okay, thanks. I think part of the issue here, too, is as Regular MLAs we just really don't have enough information and oversight on NTPC. You know, we don't get capital budgets from them. We don't get O and M budgets. All of that -- part of that is dealt with through the public utilities board but we have a board that is deputy ministers now for too long, and I go back to Hansard from May the 28th, and I'm quoting the Finance Minister:

Madam Chair, an options paper is currently under development by Executive and Indigenous Affairs that proposes to amend composition of the NWT Power Corporation board of directors. This will include an examination of the implications of appointing a board of independent professionals. This options paper will be provided to standing committee by the May/June 2023 session. Madam Chair, we still don't have this discussion paper. Can the Minister tell us what is going on? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I can say that there should be an options paper available in some -- I mean, I don't -- yeah, I'm calling it an options paper. There will be something available to committee by tomorrow, which is indeed the deadline that was set. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.