A transmission line connecting the Taltson hydro plant to Fort Providence and Kakisa has been delayed again while the NWT government goes back to Ottawa for more cash.
The project was announced in 2021 as a joint $60-million federal and territorial initiative.
At the time, the GNWT said connecting the two communities to hydro would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the territory’s power infrastructure. It could also have benefits for the electric vehicle charging corridor being created between Yellowknife and the south.
But the initial construction start date of 2023 was missed and, by late 2023, the territory instead said it hoped to have the transmission line built and operational by the spring of 2026.
However, that has changed again.
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In the legislature last week, Caroline Wawzonek – in her new role as minister of “strategic infrastructure, energy and supply chains” – said the GNWT has now asked for 100-percent federal funding and is waiting to hear back from Ottawa.
Having the federal government pay for the entire project would lessen the burden on northern taxpayers, she said, who already pay Canada’s highest power costs.
Asked for more information, the Department of Infrastructure said the aim is now to begin construction this fall and complete the transmission line by mid-2027 if the funding comes through.
The department did not specify the sum of money it is now seeking.
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The list of issues that the department said had caused the delay to date included:
- the Covid-19 pandemic;
- regional flooding and forest fires (indirectly);
- consultation and engagement;
- engineering and design refinements;
- regulatory applications;
- field programs;
- supply chain issues; and
- inflationary pressures.
“Due to the delays noted above and rising global costs, the GNWT and the federal government have agreed on the need to increase project funding. To support this, the GNWT submitted a new federal funding application in December 2024,” the department stated.
“Approval is anticipated later this summer, and we continue to engage closely with federal partners in support of a positive outcome.”
Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya urged progress on this and other projects last week, saying they would result in cheaper power for Fort Providence and Kakisa residents. She also raised the possibility that a project like this might create local jobs.
Naka Power, the distributor in the area, needs to be brought in on the project in some form for it to be completed, Wawzonek added.
“There certainly is a strong desire to see an opportunity to run a transmission line from just outside of Hay River past Kakisa and up into Fort Providence,” the minister said.
“That extra bit would represent about 15 percent of our total emissions and obviously a significant reduction on reliance of diesel, which is very volatile prices to the residents in those regions.”
