Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corp. I spoke in my statement about the need for the Power Corp to exercise judgment and cost savings in everything that they do. I’d like to ask the Minister what cost saving measures are in place for this fiscal year to minimize the impact of corporation expenditures on electricity rates for poor little consumers like us. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee, the Power Corporation, along with myself and a number of other Ministers, is looking at a number of initiatives that can help with individuals here in the Northwest Territories. We’re bringing that paper forward to Members for consideration. Within the Power Corporation itself we have to, as would be done any time we go before the PUB for a general rate application for rate riders, prove up the numbers, as they say. So there are a number of initiatives that are undertaken.
I’ll commit to get more details for the Member on just purely what the Power Corporation has been doing, and I’ll try to get that information as soon as I can.
I thank the Minister for the response. I have to take exception to his statement to prove up the numbers. I think that if you go to the right person, they can make numbers say whatever you want them to say, whether it’s for or against. That’s no slight on accountants, by the way.
I’d like to further ask the Minister what reporting or monitoring mechanisms exist for the Minister’s use or for the department’s use to ensure that the corporation is exhausting all possibilities for cost savings.
Mr. Speaker, my direct role with the Power Corporation is more with the board and the chairperson in discussing initiatives that come forward, concerns that are raised. For example, I had an opportunity to meet with the board in Norman Wells and inform them of the concerns that would be raised by Members and by people of the Northwest Territories when this winter arrives. After a general rate application is approved and the notice of rate riders is out there, as the Power Corporation and as Minister responsible, we send the message. We have to look at the way we do our operations. We can’t leave any stone unturned in trying to find ways of mitigating the impact on individuals in the Northwest Territories.
I appreciate that the Minister is working through the board, but that leads me to my next question. I appreciate that the Minister has advised the board how Members feel, how residents of the Territories feel, that we’re having a hard time with these increases in the cost of our electricity.
I’d like to know from the Minister, if he’s working through the board, what monitoring or what sorts of reporting mechanisms exist so that he feels secure in the knowledge that the board is exhausting all possibilities to save costs.
Mr. Speaker, because of the direct relationship with the Chair of the NWT Power Corporation board and the fact that we are the sole shareholder, any information that is being put forward when there are incidents of outages and so on include quite a number of things that I get updated on regularly as we progress forward.
The other initiative ongoing, long term, for example, is the hydro development that we’re looking at doing. As highlighted by Minister Bob McLeod earlier, there are a number of initiatives we’re jointly working on in trying to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels in the Northwest Territories. A long term picture would be expanding hydro development in the Northwest Territories. Again, we realize we’re going to have to look outside the box, I would say, of how we’ve operated in the past, try to find new ways of stabilizing costs and find partners out there that would help us in delivery of that power in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for his answer. I appreciate the long term vision and the steps that are being taken for the long term, but my concern is more on a day to day basis and the fact that the corporation is probably not operating as efficiently as I believe it should — well, I don’t believe it is.
My last question to the Minister is to ask him what steps he’s taking to revise or eliminate the bonus system for the NTPC management.
Mr. Speaker, in fact, I did raise the issue of bonuses with the chair of the NWT Power Corporation board and was informed that they did a review, had an external review of their system, and they were putting together a package. I haven’t seen anything beyond that.
Again I would express our concerns from the Legislative Assembly that the bonus system or the merit system that’s out there needs to withstand public scrutiny. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
