Hi Folks, Just wanted to take a moment to talk about the petition to reject the rate increase and the GNWTs subsequent decision to stop it by covering the cost. If anyone wants to follow up with me further, please free to comment on this or PM me! First off, was the petition directly responsible for stopping the rate increase? I actually think the answer to that is no, but it -did- play a very important role. By allowing people to voice their concerns on the matter and communicate just how opposed to it they really were, this went a long way in framing the discussion, especially in the court of public opinion. Besides the petition, there were comments submitted by the municipal governments of Inuvik, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, Yellowknife, Norman Wells and the Deninu Kue First Nation (Ft Resolution) all basically against the increase. As to what else transpired behind the scenes between various parties, one can only guess, but I think its a fair assumption that there were probably a good number of businesses not too happy with it either. Did we achieve our goal? Yes (well, sort of, more on that in a moment) The only real goal here was to stop the rate increase for individual consumers. One thing that I think everyone is on the same page about is that cumulatively, the overall cost of living in the NWT, not just Yellowknife, is ridiculously high. Im sure were all too familiar with having to spend the equivalent of another mortgage payment, or more, every month on the recurring cost of power, water, garbage, taxes, internet/phone, heating, insurance, vehicle, food, daycare, etc, etc, etc. The good old classic death by a thousand cuts, and God forbid anything bad happens on top of that like a furnace crapping out in the middle of winter (dont worry, thats never happened to anyone here, right?) Now we could debate until the end of time who could be most to blame for our high costs, who takes the biggest slice of our income pie. This isnt a discussion Im even remotely equipped to get into as I really cant speak to this with any authority. What I do know is that overall, were already being stretched too thin and many people in the North simply dont have the capacity to absorb even more costs on top of what were already paying. And this was the whole point of the petition- not to go after the Power Corp as a bad guy, but simply to say Sorry, were already tapped out, please find your money elsewhere In fact, if there are any Power Corp employees reading this right now, please accept my thanks for a job well done. After all, this post was typed up thanks to the power you generated. Now as to the result, the Government Bailout solution. Many people have already pointed out that while we arent going to see a direct increase on our power bills tomorrow, well be paying for it down the road in higher taxes for us and our children. And you know what? Theyre probably right. Id like to make it very clear that I am neither for, or against, the decision by the GNWT to step in as I believe it remains to be seen how the whole thing is going to play out. One of the key drivers of the petition is that it didnt specifically advocate for any single solution. Im of the belief that there are many intelligent, skilled people out there with much better knowledge of the particular situation than myself, and this was reflected in the petition leaving it wide open as to what -should- be done, so long as the solution doesnt involve upping the bills for a consumer base that is already stretched too thin. For example, many businesses finding themselves in a similar situation would need to bite the bullet and take a loss, or secure an emergency loan that -they- would be responsible for paying down the road. Another option would be to initiate budget cuts or scale back various projects and expenses. Im not saying that the power corp should look at job cuts (which Im against as that would just further lower the NWT population) but this isnt the first time an organization has run into a massive, unexpected cost (hey, isnt that what Insurance is usually for? Just a thought) Another thing to keep in mind is that at a time when the NWT is having trouble keeping the lights on for half of its population, there are lots of businesses doing quite well in the territory (mines for one) so one avenue could be to start the discussion with these players as to how much of the burden they could reasonably carry, considering how well theyre doing. One thing is for sure, whomever is selling diesel to the NTPC is going to be having one heck of a Christmas party this year! So to re-cap, Im neither for -or- against the GNWT bailout as I dont feel that I have enough information to make an informed decision. I am very happy that we wont be seeing our power bills go up in the near future. No matter which way you cut it, a lot of money is going to be burned up in massive diesel costs which I think everyone is very interested in avoiding down the road. So whats the good news? Now we have an opportunity to change one of the fundamental cornerstones of our Territory, and hopefully for the better. The GNWT will be holding a charrette (fancy word for meeting) in November in which to discuss where were going to go from here to meet our energy needs. The optimist in me hopes that some really cool ideas might come out of it, and maybe transform the Territory into a leading-edge showcase for next-generation energy that other parts of the world could follow. Will that happen? I dont know, but it sure as heck doesnt hurt to try. Real change often doesnt come until theres pain, at which point it happens much quicker than many ever anticipated. Well, now as a Territory were certainly in pain, so now we also have an amazing opportunity to change. This one meeting wont solve all of our problems, but its a chance to have a say in where we go next, and a step in the right direction. Id like to urge everyone to follow and participate in the proceedings in November as much as you can! Thanks for taking the time to read this. Aaron Reid
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 23:07:41 +0000
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