Energy bills in 7 N.W.T. communities to go up 5.5%
Northwest Territories Power Corporation raising price of energy in Taltson and Snare zones
Residents in seven N.W.T. communities will be paying 5.5 per cent more on their power bills, after the territory's public utilities board approved increased rates to the Snare and Taltson zones on Friday.
The approval means the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) will be charging more for residents in Behchokǫ̀, Dettah, Hay River, Enterprise, Kátł'odeeche First Nation, Fort Smith and Fort Resolution. While Yellowknife is also in the Snare zone, it gets its power delivered by Naka Power.
The new rates took effect as of Dec. 1.
Residents in the Thermal zone — that is, the rest of the N.W.T. — are not affected by the change because they bore the brunt of a previous increase in the summer that saw their rates go up an average of 12.7 per cent.
This latest interim increase to the Taltson and Snare zones represents a smaller increase than the nine per cent NTPC asked for.
Despite that, NTPC spokesperson Doug Prendergast said in an email Monday the power corporation is pleased with the board's decision.
He said interim rate increases help avoid "a sudden, single large increase in electricity rates for customers."
"By spreading increases out in smaller increments, customers are able to incorporate increasing rates more easily into their monthly budget," he wrote.
This latest interim rate increase shaves about 2.4 per cent off of NTPC's efforts to increase the cost of power in the territory by an average of 18 per cent. That effort, coupled with an increase that was already approved over the summer, would work out to an overall increase of 24.8 per cent, to be phased in over the next year.