NTPC electricity rates to increase by two per cent

Starting on Friday, electricity rates will increase by about two per cent, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation announced today.

Residential customers who use 1000 kWh per month in the winter will see an increase ranging between $4.00 and $7.50 per month. 

The rate increase is tied to Decision 8-2018 of the NWT Public Utilities Board (PUB) regarding NTPC’s General Rate Application (GRA) for 2016-19.

The Public Utilities Board is responsible for reviewing any proposals for electricity rate changes, said Doug Prendergast, Communications Manager at NTPC. 

NTPC’s 2016/19 GRA was submitted in June 2016. Over the past two years, NTPC has worked with the PUB, its Shareholder and its customers to ensure that customer rate increases were minimized. NTPC has demonstrated to customers and the PUB that it has the ability to effectively reduce controllable control costs throughout the process. 

“The process really is identifying what are the real costs of producing electricity and providing it to customers,” said Prendergast.

“So the decision really means that the PUB has accepted NTPC’s explanation of how much money it’s going to cost to provide electricity service to customers,” Prendergast said.

NPTC does not provide electricity to customers in Yellowknife or Hay River, so the increase doesn’t necessarily apply to people in those communities, Prendergast explained.

Northland Utilities Limited, which is a division of ATCO, currently distributes electricity generated by NPTC to Yellowknife and Hay River.

If they want to increase their rates, they will have to go through the same process with the NWT PUB.

NTPC is a wholly owned subsidiary of NT Hydro, which in turn is 100 percent owned by the Government of the Northwest Territories.