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TuesdaySeptember920143INDUSTRYHYDRORecordlowwaterlevelsraiseNWTpowercostsRatesacrossterritorycouldgoup13percentovertwoyearsByMEAGANWOHLBERGOneofthedriestsummersinNWThis-torycouldresultina13percentincreasetoratepayerspowerbillsforthenexttwoyearsduetorecordlowwaterlevelsontheSnarehydrosystem.TheNorthwestTerritoriesPowerCorp.NTPCappliedtothePublicUtilitiesBoardPUBlastweektoputatemporary3.7centperkilowattrideronpowerbillsacrosstheterritorytocovertheadditionalexpenseofusingdieseltopowerYellowknifeandtheNorthSlaveoverthenext10monthsesti-matedat20million.Ifapprovedtheriderwouldcomeintoef-fectOct.1andbeinplacefor24months.Itwouldbeappliedevenlyacrossallcommuni-tieswhereNTPCgeneratespower.NTPCrecognizesthesignificantim-pactthiswillhaveonitscustomersandisworkingtolessentheeffectsNTPCCEOandpresidentEmanuelDaRosasaidlastweek.Weveaskedforthisrateridertobeextendedoveralongerperiodoftimeatalowerratetolessentheimmediatenancialimpactandaremakingthebestuseofthewaterthatsthere.AccordingtoNTPCthisyearswaterin-owstotheSnarereservoirwerethelowestrecordedsincemonitoringbeganin1950.Whiledieselaccountsforanaverageofabout5percentofpowergeneratedfortheNorthSlaveeachyearitisanticipatedthatdieselwillgeneratearound30percentthisyearequatingto16.5millionlitres.ThePowerCorp.intendstomonitorwaterlevelsforsignicantchangesthatwilldeter-minewhetherornottheriderwillendsoonerorbeextendedandisapplyingtothewaterboardtousemorewaterthancurrentlyal-lowedinordertokeeptheuseofdieseldown.NTPCisalsolaunchingaconservationcampaigntoassistcustomersinloweringtheirpowerconsumptionduringthewintermonthswhichwillinturnlowercostsforthecompany.Conservationwillbecrucialinthecom-ingmonthssaidNTPCspokespersonPamCoulter.Everytimesomeoneconservespoweritmeansthatlessdieselisusedandthiswillkeepcostslower.Ifwedontburnasmuchdieselasweanticipatethenwecanremovetheridersooner.Coultersaidtheconservationprogramwilltar-getbothresidentialandbusinesscustomersandwillberolledoutlaterthismonthandoverthenext10monthsgivingpeopletips-andcostsavings-forloweringtheirpowerusage.Shesaidmoredetailswouldbeavailableinthecomingweeks.RatechangesmustbeapprovedbythePUB.Theboardhasbeguntheprocessofreview-ingtheapplication.Conservationwillbecrucialinthecomingmonths.Everytimesomeonecon-servespoweritmeansthatlessdieselisusedandthiswillkeepcostslower.Ifwedontburnasmuchdieselasweanticipatethenwecanremovetheridersooner.PamCoulterNTPowerCorp.Arecord-lowyearforwaterlevelsontheSnarehydrosystemmeansNTPowerCorp.cus-tomerscouldseea13percentincreaseontheirpowerbillstopayformoredieselusage.PhotocourtesyofNTPCNWTsheds1200jobsdespitepromiseofeconomicboomByJACKDANYLCHUKTheNorthwestTerritorieshasshed1200jobssinceAugustlastyearalmostalloftheminthepublicsectoraccordingtoareportfromtheNWTBureauofStatistics.Aquarterlylabourmarketbulletinpro-ducedbythefederalgovernmenttellsmuchthesamestorypeggingjoblossintheNWTat1500overthelast18months.Thetrendisinsharpcontrasttotheterri-torialgovernmentsclaimsaboutthepoten-tialbenetsofdevolutionandthetransferoffederaljobstotheterritorialpublicservice.InwelcomingdevolutionPremierBobMcLeodsaidlastyearthatitwouldhelptransformtheNorthwestTerritoriesecon-omyandcreatejobsandopportunitiesforourresidentsespeciallyifitissupportedbyanefcientandeffectiveregulatorysystemthatpromotesinvestment.TheterritorialgovernmentgaveCono-coPhillipsandHuskyOilthegoaheadtoconducthorizontaldrillingandhydraulicfracturingintheSahtubutbothcompanieshaveshelvedtheirexplorationplansput-tingtheambitionsofmanysmallcontrac-torsonhold.Butmostofthejoblosseshavecomeinthepublicsectoraccordingtothebureaureport.Itstatesthatthepublicsectorhaslost1000jobssinceAugust2013whiletheprivatesectorshed200jobsinthesameperiod.ThereportrunscountertoIndustryMinisterDaveRamsaysassessmentofthesituation.QuestionedaboutthelossesRamsaysaidinanemailthatuctuationsindemandforlabourintheNWTareprimarilydrivenbyindustrialactivityandexplorationinthenon-renewableresourcesector.WiththepauseinoilandgasexplorationintheSahtuandminimalmineconstruc-tionemploymentnumbershavedroppedRamsaytoldTheJournal.AtransportbargehaulsindustrialequipmentintotheSahtuviatheMackenzie.IndustryMinisterDaveRamsayisblamingthehaltinoilandgasexplorationintheregionforthedown-turninemploymentintheNWTthoughthemajorityofjoblossesfallwithinthepublicsector.INDUSTRYJOBSPhotoAlasdairVeitch