Brian
Willows
Director, Delta - Sahtu
Northwest Territories Power Corporation
Inuvik customers
have benefited from the Corporation's decision to convert its power
generation plant to run off natural gas instead of diesel fuel. While
customers in other diesel communities are currently paying a rate rider
of 9.9 cents, Inuvik customers are only paying a rate rider of less
than 1 cent per kWh. This means the decision to convert to natural gas
generation has resulted in immediate savings for customers.
During the winter
months many customers would have used more than the 700 kWhs that are
subsidized through the Territorial Power Support Program. In other diesel
communities purchases over 700 kWhs per month are currently costing
an extra 9.9 cents per kWh. Not in Inuvik however, because customers
are only paying a rate rider of less than 1 cent per kWh, so that is
good news I am sure.
However, there has
been a small price to pay for this saving on electricity bills. When
we buy a brand new car or new computer there are always minor teething
problems, so to in the case of new engines that are installed into our
generating plants.
Not only were the
engines that we installed new, but they were also new technology. One
of the immediate challenges was to set-up the machines so that they
could run alongside the existing diesel generators so that if one failed
the remaining engines would continue to operate. These machines also
have a different computer system with many more options, some of which
are useful for maximizing electricity output.
The Corporation's
power plant team, have undergone extensive training with the new equipment
and it is fair to say that even after a year we are still learning.
However we now better understand how the machines work and we are better
prepared to avoid system failures that ultimately lead to power outages.
Unfortunately customers
have experienced a number of outages over the last 12 months. 65% of
the outages in 2000 related directly to the new engines and while some
could have been avoided, most were simply due to setting up the machines
to work in their new environment. Already this year we have seen a 40%
reduction in the number of outages compared with the same period last
year. We are confident that the worst is behind us and that we can look
forward to once again supplying our Inuvik customers with a reliable
and safe supply of electricity.
I am not new to
the Corporation, but I am new to Inuvik, and one of my prime objectives
is to ensure that our customers receive excellent service. Nobody enjoys
being without power and we are determined to work very hard to keep
the lights on. Sometimes 'old mother nature' gets the better of us and
for this we can only apologize. However, when it comes to the systems
that we control every effort will be made to ensure failures are eliminated
or at the very best significantly minimized.
On behalf of the
Corporation and the team in Inuvik we are very sorry for the inconvenience
the recent spate of outages has caused. I believe we are now on top
of the problem and that our customers can expect to receive a reliable,
safe and cost effective supply of electricity.
