High costs, proposed changes to solar policy dominate energy town hall

At a Wednesday energy affordability town hall, two Yellowknife MLAs provided an opportunity for residents to share frustrations with the high cost of power and talk about possible solutions.

Speaking to residents, Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart said one of the most common things he and Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins heard about from constituents was the high cost of living.

“That’s nothing new, but what is new is record levels of inflation affecting energy prices on diesel, gas, heating oil and all the things we need up here in the North, especially as we go into the cold winter months,” said Testart. “We want to do something about that.”

He and Hawkins said they are drafting a private member’s bill to address energy affordability and looking to propose changes to fuel taxes.

During the meeting, residents brought forward concerns beyond high costs such as access to subsidies and rebate programs like those available through the Arctic Energy Alliance, which administers some government-backed energy efficiency funding.

One resident said he was surprised that since moving from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut to Yellowknife, his power bill doubled as similar subsidies were not available in the NWT.

A solution Hawkins proposed to help lower costs would be to import power from Alberta, though he acknowledged that might not be an economical option. At the moment, no transmission line to the south exists. Building one would cost billions of dollars.

Last month, the territory signed an agreement with Alberta and Saskatchewan to explore nuclear energy and the eventual possibility of tying the NWT’s grid to that of the provinces.

The Government of Yukon is currently evaluating the feasibility of a similar project that would connect its grid to that of British Columbia.

Exploring nuclear energy

One town hall attendee asked about the possibility of bringing small nuclear reactors to the NWT.

Testart said he had met with nuclear group Canadian Nuclear Laboratories about the prospect.

“They really want to have this conversation about bringing nuclear into our context,” he said.

“It’s not proven technology yet, so there’s a lot of caveats around how they’re going to be used, how effective they are in an Arctic environment, how waste is managed. But it is technology that is rapidly developing.”

He said it could be an eventual solution to issues like reliability, affordability and sustainability. If the NWT can benefit from research elsewhere through the likes of its recent deal with Alberta and Saskatchewan, Testart said, that “would be a huge game-changer.”

Franchise agreements and the PUB

During the town hall, Hawkins expressed concern that the City of Yellowknife renewed its franchise agreement with Naka Power for another 10 years without first entering into a competitive process to invite bids from other companies.

“One of the frustrating parts about this is they’re not exploring better relationships,” said Hawkins.

The Town of Hay River decided in 2016 to drop Naka Power (then Northland) in favour of having the power corporation handle distribution. That set off nearly a decade of legal and regulatory wrangling – which was one reason Yellowknife city staff recommended simply extending the existing agreement.

In addition to seeking competitive bids, Hawkins said doing power differently involves “radical” action like dismantling the Public Utilities Board, sometimes referred to as the PUB.

The board is an independent agency of the territorial government and serves as the energy regulator for the NWT. It is responsible for making decisions like approving rate changes.

“Get rid of the PUB, get rid of the distributors, go back to NWT Power Corp, upgrade our lines. Strategize on bringing power from Alberta,” said Hawkins.

“Could we do other things? Absolutely, but we have to do what we can do that’s real, and work towards what we hope we can bring, whether that’s nuclear power down the road – I don’t know if that’s right – but I’m saying that’s the hope.

“We shouldn’t be afraid of thinking and dreaming, but we could do real things today.”

Net metering and net billing

Testart and Hawkins said one of the issues they’ve been hearing about the most from constituents is the proposed shift from net metering to net billing for small solar energy producers.

In 2025, the territorial government directed the PUB to make changes that the GNWT hopes will modernize the NWT’s power system and promote more renewable energy.

Proposals include allowing more renewables in diesel-powered communities, adding more regulatory support for electric heating, and creating a “low water rate rider” fund that the GNWT says will “better buffer electricity costs” during droughts.

However, another proposed change includes a shift in how solar producers are compensated for the energy their systems generate.

Under a net billing agreement, the electricity a producer generates would be sold to a power company at a rate lower than retail.

Let’s say you generate more solar power at your home than you can use during some parts of the year. Under net billing, you get less from the power company in credits than the power company will get from selling the electricity to someone else.

That’s a change from net metering, the current system, which gives you more for your excess solar energy.

Attendees at the public meeting said that change, if approved, would remove an incentive for people to adopt solar.

Mary-Anne Look said she decided to install a solar system outside her Yellowknife home after February’s hours-long power outage.

“We’re going to have this thing sitting there that has been so expensive that we thought maybe we’d get payback in 10, 15, maybe 20 years, and now we’ve got no payback possible,” said Look of her new solar system.

“It’s just a big loss, and even though it looks beautiful, it might be worth nothing.”

Dave Taylor said he had solar panels installed at his home in 2019 and has only a couple more years before they are paid off.

This, he said, means the system would be paid for by the time net metering is potentially phased out.

However, he said he would be reluctant to install the same system today under a net billing system.

Hawkins and Testart said they aren’t supportive of the proposed changes.

“At the very least, we want to see that everyone who’s made the investment is grandfathered in,” said Testart.

“And that’s at the very least, if not continuing the program as-is in order to support more energy diversification, more renewables, and emissions offsets, because that’s what we want at the end of the day.”

This matter is currently before the PUB and a public hearing is set to take place from June 14-16, 2027.