Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, Mr. Speaker, at 5:30 a.m., I received an email from Minister Archie. I want to thank her for that in regards to working together with us in regards to trying to get the resupply of Sachs Harbour power, to get that generator sorted out. Can the Minister update the House in regards to the status of the power generation in Sachs Harbour? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Power Corporation.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member and I have good communication in terms of, you know, some of the events happening in his High Arctic communities. So until the new power plant is commissioned, Mr. Speaker, we had originally planned this for February to get the new plant commissioned. You know, with some of the delays that happened, with COVID in the community, and delay in our barge system as well, has a big impact, you know, on getting the work done in the community. Right now the power is getting supplied to the community using our two backup generators. Both generators had issues at 5:30 this morning, Mr. Speaker, which caused the outage. One generator was repaired by the operator with assistance from some of the maintenance crews in Inuvik. However, there was still issues with the other generator. So Northwest Territories Power Corporation, staff organized a charter first thing this morning, as soon as we were aware of the situation. The charter could not be found because of lack of pilots or airplanes. Mr. Speaker, we flew one in from Norman Wells immediately to get in the community. That charter arrived at one in the afternoon. You know, concerns like this are raised with me by northern carriers for several reasons. When I was in Ottawa, I took the opportunity to meet with Transport Canada, the minister of Transport Canada, on some of the regulations that are imposed here in the North by northern carriers and the duty hours that pilots have to now adhere to. It's impacting all the work here in the North. Thank you. Especially the small airline companies and the helicopter operators. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks for that update to the Minister. Mr. Speaker, the new power plant shouldn't be taking that long in regards to setting it up. I know we're passed COVID now. It's starting to get back for parts and stuff and what's needed for the units. So what's a hard timeline in regards to getting that new generator up in the community of Sachs Harbour? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't want to keep using COVID as an excuse but, I mean, predominantly that was the reason that we could not get this commissioned in February. As a result of not having the barge now not come in, we're looking at end of August 2023 to get the new plant commissioned. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What support's in place for emergency generators if they're not working? I mean, if the main power plant doesn't go down again, are they going to be sending in technicians or mechanics in from Inuvik to get the generators that are broken down now serviced and up and running so we don't have this issue? It's going to be minus 40 tonight, and I don't want to you know, at 5:30 this morning you're already worrying about what's happening in the community. So is the Minister going to make sure that happens? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when the incident happened at 5:30 this morning, we were in contact with the community and the generators at the school and the health centres were up and running and ready to receive any residents if it were required. You know, I also kept the Member updated, and we advised his office and staff, at 10 a.m., that the power was back up and running. So, I mean, I kept in contact all morning with the community, the Members, to ensure that this is a priority for us. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Nunakput.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, I just want to thank the Minister for all the work that she's done with the power corporation to serve the community of Sachs Harbour. And I just want to make sure, Mr. Speaker, that August 2023, that generator is up and running and no more excuses. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, these are timelines. I mean, we had a timeline to get the plant going in February. As a result of, you know, things beyond our control, we weren't able to make it happen. We wanted to get it serviced sooner and, you know, we couldn't get the barge in the community. That's a result. I mean, there's so many different factors that we want to say August 2023. We don't know what's going to happen, Mr. Speaker. That's a timeline that I have committed with the community and with the Member. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
