Mr. Speaker, on May 31, 2013, in response to questions from Mr. Alfred Moses, Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, I addressed aspects of this government’s plan to provide relief for the residents of Inuvik by introducing liquefied natural gas, or LNG, to the community. I would like to clarify one point about LNG storage plans.
Northwest Territories Power Corporation plans to store just under a weeks' supply of LNG on site for the electricity project. A full year’s supply of backup diesel is already on hand in Inuvik. Once the pilot year is completed, an evaluation of storage requirements will determine what the optimal storage requirements will be and that may be as much as 30 days.
While providing lower cost electricity to NTPC customers is certainly a central objective of this initiative, it may not be the only way that Inuvik residents will be able to enjoy the benefits of LNG. Provided that the LNG pilot year for electricity proves successful, the community may wish to consider the merits of LNG as part of the heating solution for the town as they may receive some economies of scale by exploring an LNG solution alongside NTPC.
The seasonal heating requirements for the town will require a higher level of storage - in the order of 30 days’ worth of storage. The optimum level of storage and the overall viability of LNG for heating supply will have to be evaluated after the LNG pilot year is operational and the impact of extended ferry service has been assessed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
