Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation with regard to the general rate application increase for 2008.
Once again, as in my Member’s statement, I said that residents disagree. I’m here to ask the Minister: is there a way to delay or defer this process until we get a good review of the NWT Power Corporation? Another way of doing business there is to look at reducing the operating costs. Can the Minister address that? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is there an opportunity to delay this? No, there is not an opportunity, as it’s been filed with the PUB and they’ll go through their process. The fact is that it is dealing with the cost of fuel for previous months and having to make up the shortfall. The more we delay, the cost to the Power Corporation itself continues to climb, and we’re going to have to deal with that. That’s where we are in that scenario. Within the existing operating environment that we have, the Power Corporation has to make up for its operational needs, and the rate base is the only way to do that. We’re working through that process.
Are there ways of dealing with the cost of the Power Corporation? I believe there are. Through the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee we’re looking at a number of options with the Power Corporation, as well as just how we deal with the issue of energy production in the Northwest Territories.
I really believe that there’s got to be another way of doing this, that the Power Corporation is the one that submits the general rate application. They must have the ability to at least look at their operating costs to be able to determine some savings there, some efficiencies, and then use those internalized savings to pass on to the customers. Then maybe there is an increase, but it doesn’t have to be straight to the pocketbooks of our NWT residents.
I believe we just recently sent out a package to all Members of the Assembly on how the rate base is structured in their communities, from those communities that are on diesel, those that are on hydro, the administration costs, the amortization costs and interest costs on loans. All of that was put together to show Members just how much and to what percentage certain activities take up of that rate structure that impacts communities. That is one thing we’re doing; we’re looking at those costs. The Power Corporation, whenever it goes to the PUB, has to justify its operational requirements. That’s another method of looking at it.
Overall, I believe we have to, as the Legislative Assembly, set some direction in the area of the operation of the Power Corporation and how the Public Utilities Board looks at that. We’re prepared to sit down with Members and go through a whole list of initiatives that we’re looking at. Hopefully, if Members are in agreement through the business planning process, we’ll be able to come up with some options that we can put forward during the life of this Assembly.
I don’t think residents of Nahendeh believe that for a minute, because we have two distinct different operating communities. We’ve got South Lake, which uses a different utility provider, and then you’ve got a community like Nahanni Butte, which uses NTPC, and their rates are almost a dollar different there. How can that be? That’s why I believe in an internalized review of the NWT Power Corporation. How our people pay for this cost should be reviewed and internalized before we ask for an increase in rates for all the communities. I’d like the Minister to see if he can do that.
Under the direction of the Public Utilities Board rate structure is the process that’s used. PUB has said that the Legislative Assembly has to give direction in that area. If the Assembly wants to look at how it addresses that, that’s the initiative we’re prepared to sit down and talk about and bring forward to Members for further discussion and hopefully some decisions.
For the actual program itself, doing an internal review, I believe we are going to do that through the whole energy initiative of how we develop power, how we distribute it and some of the alternative sources of energy that are out there. We’re prepared to go to committee with a lot more detail and try to see where there’s support for moving ahead on some of these initiatives.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister know if a part of the general rate application community hearings — I think that’s what they’re proposing — will be in some of our smaller communities, in particular the Nahendeh communities?
The Power Corporation doesn’t itself select what communities they go into. It’s through the PUB. They’ve set up a process and how others can also feed into that system of their review. I don’t have a list with me at this time. We can work with the Minister responsible for the PUB and provide that for Members. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
