Opportunities NORTH POWER QEC introduces standardized rates across Nunavut

in Baker Lake opened in April 2023 at a cost of close to $17.2 million.

March 31. Any subsequent usage exceeding the subsidy limit will be billed at full cost.

Qulliq Energy Corporation achieved power sales totalling $135.5 million in 2022-23, up from $130.9 million the previous year.

Of that total 2022-23 total, $72.3 million was generated in the Qikiqtaaluk, $35.6 million was sold in the Kivalliq and $27.6 million came from the Kitikmeot.

Total revenue added up to $146 million, which was $9.4 million more than $136.6 million in expenses. Fuel and lubricants were the most costly expense at $48.9 million, up from $47.1 million a year earlier.

QEC committed to purchasing 54.5 million litres of fuel in 2022-23. That was followed by labour at $38.5 million and supplies and services at $28.8 million, among other items.

QEC had an accumulated surplus of $156 million as of the end of 2021-22.

Capital expenditures in 2021-22 totalled $48.7 million. That figure dropped to $21.6 million in 2022-23. The new QEC head office

In 2021-22, QEC’s board of directors prioritized new power plants for Cambridge Bay, Gjoa Haven and Iglulik, as well as a generator upgrade in Iqaluit. New power plants for Chesterfield Inlet and Kugaaruk are also in the queue.

New rate structure

The Government of Nunavut adopted uniform rates for Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC) customers as of Oct. 1, 2022. It means that customers in the same rate class pay the same amount no matter where they live in the territory, courtesy of a greater subsidy from the Government of Nunavut.

Non-government residential rates are 62 cents per kilowatt hour.

Under Nunavut’s Electricity Subsidy Program, all non-government residential customers pay 50 per cent of the Iqaluit rate (31 cents per kilowatt hour) on energy usage up to 700 kilowatt hours from April 1 to Sept. 30 and 1,000 kilowatt hours from Oct. 1 to

Non-government commercial rates are 51 cents per kilowatt hour.

Governmental residential rates are 93 cents per kilowatt hour.

Government commercial rates are 87 cents per kilowatt hour.

Customers in all categories realized a decrease in prices except commercial power users in Iqaluit, who saw their rates rise by five per cent, or $52 per month on average.

QEC described the new rate structure as “more equitable for customers.”

A territorial government corporation, Qulliq operates 25 diesel power plants that have a total capacity of close to 76 megawatts. Approximately 15,000 customers rely on QEC as the territory’s only provider of electricity.

Record reliability

Qulliq achieved a 99.98 per cent reliability rate in 2021-22, a new benchmark for that metric. There were just 3.32 power outages on average per customer in 2021-22 compared to 6.9 outages in 2020-21. The average length of outages also fell, from 5.67 hours in 2020-21 to 1.92 hours in 2021-22.

Employment targets

As of March 31, 2023, QEC’s Inuit employment targets showed 105 of 184 filled positions were Inuit staff, which was 57 per cent. There were 36 vacant roles at the time. The Government of Nunavut has long striven to reach 85 per cent representative Inuit employment.

Cyberattack

A cyber-security attack against Qulliq Energy Corp. in January caused chaos.

The corporation was temporarily unable to access its data, email, and billing and payroll systems. Customers’ meter readings for January had to be estimated.

Distruptions to customers were resolved after a few weeks. An investigation into the incident involving the government’s in-house expertise, the RCMP and other cyber specialists was carried out over multiple months.