Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in my Member’s statement, I think the public might be getting a little bit confused about all the reviews and studies and analyses we’re undertaking as a government in respect to energy. We all know we have a problem. The problem is that people are finding it difficult to cope with the amount that they have to pay for energy in our communities. That, in a nutshell, is the problem. How are we as a government going to respond to that? Well, I think that all of these reviews, particularly the review of NTPC, might go some ways to figuring out if there’s some way that we can deliver energy in a more cost-efficient manner.
Mr. Speaker, the production, distribution and sale of energy is a very complicated business, but we have to take a very coordinated and cost-effective approach to reviewing this. I’m finding that we at least need these studies to happen in a certain order otherwise it just gets redundant and a little bit ridiculous. I’d like to ask the Premier, does he agree that there should be some order to these reviews taking place or does he think they should just all happen concurrently? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I met with committee and informed them of the process that we’re undergoing with the ATCO proposal the fact that we have these reviews that are out there, one through the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee that was launched, as the Member pointed out, in December through Minister Bob McLeod. The one that reacts to the emotion of this Assembly and that is the NTPC review and the review of the ATCO proposal, they will all take...They’ll be in step in the sense we’re going to do the initial review on the rates regulation subsidy and structure. It is due to report back in June. Following that, the report back on the NTPC review will come through the summer. Following that, we’re anticipating to have results back from our first phase review on the ATCO proposal by the fall. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, if the review of NTPC were to indicate that there is a more cost-effective and a better, more efficient way of having the Power Corporation operate which would have a positive impact on the rates that people pay in the communities, would that not necessarily impact whether or not we would actually want to entertain the ATCO proposal? I don’t really know all the reasons for entertaining the ATCO proposal, but it seems that the information from one review will have an effect on the necessity of the next one, so I would think it would be wise not to have all of these running concurrently. They cost a lot of money. What is the cost? What’s the price tag on these three undertakings? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we’re doing the work internally on all the pieces that need to be done. Minister Bob McLeod could reference the energy rates regulation subsidy review that’s going on, the estimates there. The Power Corporation review is something we’re doing internally. The ATCO proposal right now is at phase one. Until we decide to get to the next step, we will have to look at how much more in depth that will be. Right now we’re using funding from within existing resources. I think, Mr. Speaker, we have to look at, yes, these pieces all will fit a puzzle but we have to ask ourselves when we talk about the constituents and what they’re feeling, as the Member pointed out, their wanting to deal with the cost of living today. We have to look at what we can do in the future that will impact the cost of living in the Territories. We not only have to look at the brutal facts, or the facts that we have today, but we have to look at the possibilities of what can be, Mr. Speaker. And some of this work is putting that together, the possibilities that we can provide cheaper, cleaner energy to the constituents of the North. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in fact, the people of the Northwest Territories have very little ability, except through conservation, to affect the rates that they are going to pay. I’m not really sure what the going and listening to people in all the communities...We know what they’re going to say. They’re going to say that the cost of energy in their community is too high and it’s our job as a government to figure out a way that we can offset that.
Maybe we need to look at our Territorial Power Subsidy Program. Maybe we need to look at energy conservation measures. But to have all of these reviews running concurrently, and a lot of the work that they’re proposing to do in the terms of reference has already been done. In the review to consider electricity rates have there not been previous reports done that have extensively canvassed that particular topic and are available to us without going back out and reinventing this?
The work that needs to be done in a number of areas, we have heard from the constituents and from this Assembly who said things have to be done. The status quo wasn’t good enough anymore, so the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee looked at the broad structure of rates and how they’re applied. So for example, yes, past Assemblies have talked about one-rate zones. Should we talk about a conservation zone or rate that would be applied equally across the Territory? How would that be taken by the people of the North? Should we in fact, as this government is looking at through this budget exercise, put in $60 million to look at alternative energies which would stabilize rates and maybe even affect some lower rates in our communities? The bigger piece then goes to the Power Corporation itself, which is, is it operating the most efficiently and effectively? How can it be done better? Is that structure the right structure? That’s the work that has to be done internally on that piece.
As the Member had pointed out, if we are looking at automobiles and we want to sell that automobile or if we want to keep it longer, first thing we have to do is get it in the shop and do an estimate of what needs to be repaired, how should it be fixed, should we tune it up, does it need new tires. There are those questions we need to ask ourselves and then we get to the point of how much money do I have in my pocket. Can I replace one or four tires? Should I do a tune-up at the same time to replace the spark plugs? That’s the work we’re doing right now.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The analogy that the Premier goes on about extensively is a good analogy. That’s why I think there should be a sequence and order to these reviews. If the NTPC is a delivery vehicle for power to people in the Northwest Territories, let’s review that first before we put the ad in the bargain finder and start trying to figure out how much we’re going to sell the Power Corporation for.
There comes a point when we look at all things, and I’ll go back to my history as working in a shop. When we have a vehicle that’s been with us for quite some time and the maintenance side starts to catch up and we have to do some major replacements, and we’re trying to look to the future as to will this vehicle carry us where we need to go, we do need to do some repair on that piece. Before we make that final decision, can I hang onto this for another 10 years, five years, or should I polish this thing up and put it up for sale? That’s a decision we have yet to get to. There is an order and sequence, as I stated. The rates regulation piece will be looked at and reported back in June. The NTPC review will come back in the summer. And we’ll come back with our first phase review of the proposal that was put on our table. At that point we’ll have a decision of should we move to the next phase and how much effort will we put into it. If we’re going to move to that next phase, then we will have to come forward with a budget to this Assembly about taking a very serious look at our options.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
