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PowerCorp.seeksratehiketooffsetdieselcostsIndustryPowerEnvironmentOffshoreDrilling10TuesdayMarch18201414033DG0bytakingcareofwhatmattersmost.WerebuildingAlbertaBudget2014meansastrongerandbetterAlberta.WereinvestinginroadsandschoolssupportingseniorsandvulnerableAlbertansandprovidinghealthcarewhereandwhenitsneeded.Andweresavingforfuturegenerations.LearnmoreatBuildingAlbertaPlan.caByNATHALIEHEIBERG-HARRISONCanadianresearchersinpartnershipwithsci-entistsfromtheUSAandKoreaarebusylayingthegroundworkforexplor-atoryoffshoredrillingintheBeaufortSea.Morethan100scientiststechniciansandcrewmem-berstookpartinaCanada-Korea-USAArcticresearchexpeditioninSeptemberwhosepreliminaryfind-ingswerepresentedtoacrowdofmorethan30atAuroraCollegeinInuviklastWednesday.Theirmaingoaltoen-sureoffshoredrillinghap-pensinasafeandrespon-sibleway.Ourmainfocusreallyistoprovidethebaselinegeoscienceinformationforthisverylikelydeepwa-terdrillingexercisethatsgoingtogoaheadsaidMi-chelleCtaresearchsci-entistwiththeGeologicalSurveyofCanada.Thatsthelargerpicture.Ctsaidtheexpeditionsgoalistoprovideresearch-ersregulatorslocalcom-munitiesandgovernmentswiththebestinformationpossibleaddingthatin-dustrywilllikelydrillitsfirst-everdeepwaterwellsinsevento10years.Lastfallsresearchwasconductedontwoicebreak-ersKoreasAraonandCanadasSirWilfridLau-rierbyresearcherswiththeMontereyBayAquar-iumResearchInstituteMBARIofCaliforniaByMEAGANWOHLBERGTheNorthwestTerritoriesPowerCorp.NTPChasre-questedpermissiontoaddafuelriderofonecentperkilowatthourtoconsumersbillsacrosstheterritoryinordertocountertheeffectsofrisingdieselcostsitan-nouncedlastweek.NTPCmadetheapplica-tiontothePublicUtilitiesBoardPUBclaimingthecurrentpowerratesdonotaccuratelyreectthecostofdieselnoweighttimeshigherthanwhenthePowerCorp.lastsetitsrate.AccordingtoNPTCspokespersonPamCoulterthatriderwillapplyacrosstheboardregardlessofwhetherornotpeopleliveinhydro-poweredorthermalScientistsmapseaoorforfutureoffshoredrillingdiesel-poweredcommunities.Theraterideristerri-tory-wideandnotheriderisforonecentperkWhinallcommunitiesshesaidinanemail.AspartoftheGNWTsreviewonpowerratesregulationandsubsidiesin201011itwasdecidedtoeliminatecommunitybasedratesandcreateratezones.AspartofthisprocessNTPCwasalsodirectedtocreateasingleterritory-widefuelstabilizationfund.Havingalargerterritory-widesta-bilizationfundmeansthatridersarelessfrequentandsmaller.Allfundscollectedfromtheriderwillgodirectlyintothefuelstabilizationfundnowsittingatadecitof2.5million.ThefundcoverstheextracostinfuelanddoesnotgotowardsanyotherNTPCexpenses.WholesalepowersalestoHayRiverdistributedbyNorthlandUtilitiesaretheexceptionastheygeneratetheirowndieselbackupandrecovertheirownfuel-relatedcoststhroughaseparatebill-ingprocess.TheapplicationisnowunderreviewbythePUB.IfapprovedthenewrateswilltakeeffectacrosstheterritoryonApr.12014.Theaverageresidentialimpactwillbebe-tween2and8permonthaccordingtoNTPC.Apr.1isalsothestartdateforthethirdoffourscheduledrateincreaseswhichwillseeratesriseby5.6percent.theDepartmentofFisher-iesandOceansDFOandtheKoreaPolarResearchInstituteKOPRI.TheGeologicalSurveyofCanadawhichispartofNaturalResourcesCanadaistheCanadiansciencelead.Itsgoalwastoun-dertakefundamentalgeo-sciencestudiesassessac-tivegeologicprocessesandassessmarinegeohazards.Geohazardsneedtobeinvestigatedandanalyzedbeforedrillingcanhap-penCtsaid.MBARIsmainfocusareawasseaoorhabitatwhileDFOfocusedonoceanog-raphyandKOPRIfocusedonoceanographyandpale-oceanographythestudyofthehistoryoftheoceans.ItsquiteadynamicandinterestingenvironmentCtsaidoftheouterBeau-fortSeashelfandslope.ThegroupsfivemaintaskswhileintheBeau-fortSeaweretoconductcoringoperationsfree-fallconepenetrationmeasure-mentsheatflowmeasure-mentsandtoexploretheseafloorwitharemotelyoperatedunderwaterve-hicleandautonomousun-derwatervehicle.Despiteaseaicecoverthatwasatanunexpected20-yearhightheteamwalkedawaywithtrovesofdataandsamplestobeanalyzed.TheresalotofveryinterestingnewscienceCtsaidincludingthediscoveryofglacialstria-tionswhichindicatethatglacierswereoncepresentinthearea.Itsjustinanareathatnobodyexpectedtofindglacialdepositsshesaidofthesurprisingfinding.Theexpeditionteamcol-lectedpicturesandvideosoftheseaooraswellasgeo-physicalimagingtomapsub-surfacegeologypermafrostandgashydrateoccurrence.Theynowhavemorein-formationrelatingtothestabilityandbearingcapac-ityoftheseafloorwhichcanbeusedbyengineerswhenbuildinglargestruc-tureslikeoffshoredrills.Theyalsodocumentedsedimentdeformationandmarineslidesontheshelfedgeandintheupperslopeandcollectednewinforma-tiononthedistributionofmarinepermafrost.CtsaiddetailsforthenextjointArcticresearchexpeditionwilllikelybeinplacebyMayastheyhopetoheadoutagaininSeptember.Itsdifculttosetlong-termresearchgoalswhenfundinguctuatessomuchsheaddedbuteventuallytheywouldliketocoverawiderareaoftheBeaufortSea.Itsbasicallylittlepost-agestampsoftheareasthatweveinvestigatedinthisveryvastoceanshesaid.InadditionCtsaidtheywouldliketodorepeatsur-veystoseehowtheseaoorandshelfchangesovertime.AdditionalfundingfortheprogramwasprovidedbytheProgramofEnergyResearchandDevelopmentafederalprogramrunbyNaturalRe-sourcesCanada.Morethan30InuvikresidentsattendthepresentationbytheGeologicalSurveyofCanadaatAuroraCollegewhereMichelleCtsharesndingsoflastyearsBeaufortSearesearch.PhotoNathalieHeiberg-Harrison