GNWT Tables Electricity Review
R(16)307 - Friday, November 06, 2009
Chair of the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee (MECC), Bob McLeod, tabled “Creating A Brighter Future: A Review of Electricity Regulation, Rates and Subsidy Programs in the Northwest Territories” in the Legislative Assembly yesterday.
The GNWT will now develop a detailed response to the recommendations contained in the Review Team’s Final Report. Minister McLeod has committed to completing comprehensive response to the Review Team’s recommendations by March 2010.
“Communities, stakeholders and residents of the Northwest Territories have stated many times that they would like to see change to our electricity system,” Minister Bob McLeod said. “Collectively, we need to find a way of designing the system that is fair to all NWT communities and provides all residents with the opportunity to succeed. The Government of the Northwest Territories welcomes the report of the independent panel and believes that it has given us excellent material for consideration.”
“Our Team believes that electricity is an essential service in our communities and it is critical that northerners have equitable access to affordable electricity,” stated Mr. Cleveland, Chair of the Electricity Review Team. “The electricity system is complex and our recommendations are aimed at decreasing complexity, making the entire system more efficient as well as transparent,” he added.
Jane Groenewegen, Chair of the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning says, “Any change needs to work for all communities in the NWT and Members of the Legislative Assembly will be discussing the issues raised in the report with our constituents and the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee over the coming months”
The Review of Electricity Regulation, Rates and Subsidy Programs (Electricity Review) began last December with the publication of the MECC Discussion Paper titled A Review of Electricity Rates, Regulations and Subsidy Programs in the Northwest Territories. The discussion paper was broadly distributed and served as the basis for public discussions and the work of the Electricity Review Team.
The Review Team, composed of Mr. Mark Cleveland, Mr. Gerry Forrest, and Mr. Doug Matthews, was appointed in February of 2009. The Review Team conducted eight public forums, held in Inuvik, Norman Wells, Fort Simpson, Hay River, Fort Smith, Yellowknife, Fort Resolution and Behchokö. In addition, Team members met with nearly 50 other organizations and individuals, received 25 written submissions, and heard from over 350 people in total. These discussions are reflected in a report released this past July titled “A Discussion with Northerners about Electricity”.
The next step is for the GNWT to develop a detailed response to the recommendations contained in the Review Team’s Final Report. The GNWT has committed to tabling a comprehensive response to the Review Team’s recommendations in the Legislative Assembly in March 2010.
For more information contact:
Drew Williams
Press Secretary for Premier/Cabinet
Government of the Northwest Territories
Phone: (867) 669-2304
Mark Cleveland
Electricity Review Team
Phone: (867) 444-9655
BACKGROUNDER
The NWT Energy Plan, released in March 2007, contemplated a review of the NWT Electricity System. In December 2008 the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) released a public discussion paper that posed a number of questions for public discussion. The first question posed was “What should be our vision for the future of electricity in the Northwest Territories?”
The GNWT appointed a three-member team to solicit and report back on public views and to present options. Biographies are attached for that team, which consisted of Mr. Mark Cleveland, Mr. Gerry Forrest and Mr. Doug Matthews. The team was asked to solicit public input and provide options regarding:
• reducing electricity costs where possible;
• equitably distributing electricity costs; and
• ensuring affordable electricity.
The Electricity Review Panel undertook an extensive public discussion process. It held public meetings in Inuvik, Norman Wells, Fort Simpson, Yellowknife, Behchokö, Hay River, Fort Smith and Fort Resolution. The team also worked with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities to hold a two day work shop to receive input from smaller communities. In total, the panel heard from over 350 residents and organizations.
In June 2009 a summary of what was heard during this public process was released, entitled “Electricity Review: A Discussion with Northerners About Electricity.” The public discussions, as well as a number of written submissions to the Review Team, are reflected in that Report.
The Review Team has now also presented the GNWT with a series of comprehensive recommendations in a report called “Creating a Brighter Future”, which is available through the Legislative Assembly’s web page at http://www.assembly.gov.nt.ca/_live/pages/wpPages/tableddocuments.aspx.
Recommendations contained in this Report are solely those of the Review Team.
The next step will be to develop a comprehensive Government of the Northwest Territories response to the Review Team’s report. The Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee, working closely with the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning, will develop a comprehensive response to the Electricity Review, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation Review and the ATCO proposal by March 2010.
THE ELECTRICITY REVIEW TEAM
G. D. (Gerry) FORREST – G. D. (Gerry) Forrest is a professional public administrator who has been involved in Canadian public policy and energy regulatory arena for nearly four decades, the last 15 years of which have been in the energy regulatory sector. Gerry’s career path includes roles as Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs, Urban Affairs and Rural Development, and former Chair and CEO of the Public Utilities Board of Manitoba.
Gerry has become a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the field of public administration and public utility regulation and has served as a university guest lecturer and conference/workshop speaker across Canada and the United States. In 2003, through USAID and the World Bank, Gerry was invited to make a presentation on the regulation and organization of public utilities to the senior administrators from a number of third world countries including Nepal, Bhutan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Gerry was recently engaged by the Province of Saskatchewan to update its regulatory system. The Northwest Territories will gain from his vast national and international experience.
DOUG MATTHEWS – Doug Matthews has been involved for over 30 years in northern resource development with experience in the mining, petroleum, pipeline and electricity sectors of the Northwest Territories economy.
Doug spent twenty-five years with the GNWT, living in Tuktoyaktuk, Inuvik and Yellowknife; has worked with most communities in the NWT; and has sought to resolve energy issues with groups ranging from hamlet councils to committees of the United States Senate.
MARK CLEVELAND - Mr. Mark Cleveland has over thirty years of public policy experience in the north, with most of those years at a senior level. Mr. Cleveland’s experience includes six years as President of Arctic (Aurora) College and ten years as a Deputy Minister in the departments of Education, Culture and Employment, Health and Social Services, Executive, and also served as Secretary to the Financial Management Board and Comptroller General for the Government of the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Cleveland is well-known for vision, commitment to innovation, and his dedication to the north. His knowledge of NWT communities and experience in building sustainable communities was gained through many years of working closely with community and territorial organizations. Mr. Cleveland has been responsible for conceiving, organizing and managing a wide range of organizational and program change initiatives.
