The History of Power in Yukon | Thursday, February 26, 2009

We thought you might be interested in learning about Yukon’s electrical history. Here’s a brief summary:

Early 1900s:
The completion of the White Pass and Yukon Railway from Skagway to Whitehorse made it possible to transport the heavy equipment necessary to build hydroelectric facilities.

Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. started generating electricity for people in Whitehorse using a wood-fired steam engine. It only supplied power from the time it got dark until about midnight. In the winter, power was also supplied for a short period every morning.

1930s:
The introduction of household appliances created a greater demand for electricity in the Whitehorse area. Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. made power available on Monday mornings for washing and on Tuesday mornings for ironing.

1935:
Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. began supplying power on a 24-hour basis.

1940s:
The construction of the Alaska Highway brought a large influx of U.S. army personnel to Whitehorse. While Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. continued to serve civilians, the army supplied its own power, using diesel generators. When the American army left, it gave the diesels to the Canadian army.

1948:
The Northwest Territories Power Commission, a federal Crown Corporation, was established to oversee the construction and operation of power plants in the northern territories.The federal government took on this task in Yukon because it didn’t feel Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. had the financial means to meet the growing demand for electricity in the territory. The agency was later renamed the Northern Canada Power Commission.

1949:
Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. started operating a small hydro facility at Fish Lake near Whitehorse.

1951:
The Northern Canada Power Commission built the Mayo hydro plant to serve the United Keno Hill Mine in Elsa.

1958:
The Northern Canada Power Commission completed and began operating the Whitehorse hydro dam. As a result, power rates decreased by about 16 percent.

Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. was sold to an Alberta firm, Canadian Utilities.

1975:
The Northern Canada Power Commission built the Aishihik hydro facility to provide additional power to Whitehorse, and to serve the Faro mine.

1980:
Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. became a member of the ATCO group of companies, after Alberta-based ATCO took over ownership of Canadian Utilities.

1987:
All the Northern Canada Power Commission’s assets in Yukon were devolved to the territorial government. The Yukon government formed Yukon Energy to take over these assets. Yukon Energy, in turn, asked the Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. to manage and operate the generating facilities.

1997:
Yukon Energy decided not to renew our contract with Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. but instead we opted to operate and manage our own assets. It has been that way ever since, with Yukon Energy being the main producer of power, and Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. being the main distributor.

Second Life for First Aid Supplies | Monday, February 23, 2009

Today we want to give a shout out to the St. John's Ambulance Brigade in Whitehorse. Its volunteers do a great job of providing first aid services at community events. Last week we were able to help them out by donating several boxes of first aid supplies that they can use for training purposes.

Yukon Occupational Health and Safety regulations require us to keep our first aid supplies up to date. Instead of throwing out our old supplies, we wanted to find another use for them that could benefit the public. The local St. John’s Ambulance Brigade expressed an interest in using the supplies to train their members and we were happy to oblige.

For Yukon Energy it’s a win-win situation. All our facilities now have up to date first aid kits and we’ve been able to put the old supplies to good use; one that will benefit the community as a whole.

Photo: Yukon Energy's Jim Petelski with St. John’s Ambulance Brigade Leader Joanne Green, seen with the first aid supplies donated by Yukon Energy Corporation. Click on photo to enlarge the view.

The “Equalized Rate System” Explained | Monday, February 23, 2009

Today we’re tackling a question we’ve often been asked over the last few months:

If I’m a Yukon Energy customer, why do I have to pay any rate increases approved for Yukon Electrical Company Ltd?

It’s a good question! In Yukon, we have what’s known as an equalized rate system. That means that no matter where people live (whether they live in a community served by hydro or by diesel) and no matter who provides them with power (Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. or Yukon Energy) residential customers will pay the same rate for their first 1,000 kilowatt hours a month of electricity. Business customers will pay the same rate for their first 2,000 kilowatt hours per month of electricity.

If Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. is granted the rate increase it has recently asked for, all Yukoners will see that increase on their bills. If Yukon Energy is granted the rate decrease we’ve applied for, all Yukoners will see that decrease reflected on their bills.

So what’s the bottom line for you? Watch for a future posting when we’ll try to answer that question.

Reading Your Power Bill | Thursday, February 19, 2009

Confused about all those charges on your electric bill? Today we’ll walk you through how to read your bill. It would be best if you had your latest power bill in front of you, so you can follow along as you read this. If you don’t have one, you can use the sample bill provided here.

It makes no difference whether your power supplier is Yukon Energy or Yukon Electrical Company; both bills have the same charges and the same lay-out.

 
1. Statement Account: This is your account number. Have that number ready if you have questions for your service provider about your bill.
      
 
2. Reading/Codes: This is your meter reading. It shows how much energy you used during the billing period. An ‘A’ beside the number indicates this is an actual meter reading. An ‘E’ shows a reading has been estimated. A reading is estimated if the meter reader wasn’t able to reach your meter for some reason (heavy snow, etc.).
      
 
3. Energy Used (kWh): This shows the amount of electricity you used during the billing period. In the case of the sample bill, this household used 826 kilowatt hours (kWh) in a month. The average monthly usage per household is about 700 kWh.
      
 
4. Consumption by Bill Cycle Chart: This chart shows you how much electricity you use each month. The month is represented by the letter below it (O is for October for example)
      
 
5. Balance Forward: This will show if you have any money owning from previous months.
      
 
6. Customer Charge: This covers a portion of the cost for assets such as powerlines and generation stations. This charge applies even if no power is used.
      
 
7. Energy Charge: The cost of the electricity you have used. If you’re a residential customer, you are charged 9.86 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 1,000 kilowatt hours a month (this is referred to as the ‘first block’ rate). For each kilowatt hour you use above 1,000 (the ‘second block’), you are charged 10.45 cents if you live in a community served by hydro power, 12.36 cents if you live in a diesel community, or 25.77 cents if you live in Old Crow.
      
 
8. Fuel Adjustment Rider: This is the first of a series of riders you will see on your bill. Riders are temporary adjustments on electrical bills. They may be a rebate or they may collect money from customers. They are put in place to adjust for factors that were not anticipated when the electrical rate was established. The Fuel Adjustment Rider reflects the difference between the cost of using diesel to generate power in 1997 (the last time rates were set) and today.
      
 
9. Rate Stabilization Fund: This is a subsidy provided by the Yukon government. It was implemented in 1998 after the Faro mine closed to protect customers from significant bill increases that would have resulted from that shutdown. The subsidy is scheduled to end on July 1 of this year.
      
 
10. YEC Revenue Shortfall Rider: You might know this as Rider J. Yukon Energy needs a certain amount of money to pay its expenses. All customers contribute to that pot of money, including the Faro mine when it was in operation. When the mine closed permanently in 1998, Yukon Energy still had to cover its expenses, but with fewer customers. Rider J covers ongoing fixed Yukon Energy costs that can no longer be charged to the Faro mine.
     
      Last year, Yukon Energy asked for a rate decrease. The Yukon Utilities Board is still considering that request. In the meantime, it has approved an interim decrease in Rider J of 3.48 percent.
       
 
11. YECL Interim Revenue Shortfall Rider: This is also known as Rider R. Yukon Electrical Company has asked for a rate increase. While the Yukon Utilities Board considers its request, it has been granted an interim rate increase of five percent.
       
 
12. Yukon Rebate of Income Tax: The Yukon government refunds part of the income tax paid by Yukon Electrical Company. That money is then passed on to customers.

Next time we’ll address a question that we have been asked quite often: “If I’m a Yukon Energy customer, why do I have to pay the five percent interim rate increase that has been given to Yukon Electrical Company? Shouldn’t it just be Yukon Electrical Company customers paying that increase?”

Today’s Power Outage | Tuesday, February 17, 2009

As we write this, power is being restored to customers in the Southern and parts of the Central Yukon. The power went out just before 4 o’clock this afternoon. Crew members were doing some work on the transformer at our Aishihik facility, and in the process of doing that they encountered a problem which led to the outage.

There is no question that there have been far too many power outages over the last few months and you are right to demand an answer as to why. It’s a topic that deserves a full and thoughtful response, and we will provide an answer for you very soon via this blog. Today though, our focus must be to restore everyone’s power as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and our apologies for the inconvenience this outage has caused you.

What’s In a Name? | Friday, February 13, 2009

We are often asked the question: “What’s the difference between Yukon Energy and Yukon Electrical Company Ltd?” With two utilities operating in the territory with very similar names, it’s understandable that you might confuse the two.

Simply put, there are three separate functions in supplying you with electricity – the power is produced, it’s transmitted to your community, and then it’s delivered to your home or business.

Yukon Energy produces and transmits most of Yukon’s electricity. The hydro facilities at the dam site in Whitehorse, in Mayo, and at Aishihik belong to Yukon Energy, as do the two wind turbines on Haeckel Hill. Yukon Energy is also the owner of the major transmission lines that run throughout the territory. You will sometimes hear these referred to as ‘grids’: the Whitehorse-Aishihik-Faro grid in Southern Yukon and the Mayo-Dawson grid further north.
While Yukon Energy does sell power directly to customers in Mayo, Dawson, Faro and a few smaller communities, the Yukon Electrical Company is the main distributor of power in the territory. Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. buys power from us and then sells it to most businesses and individuals.

There’s another difference between the two companies: Yukon Energy is owned by the Yukon Development Corporation, a Crown Corporation of the Yukon government. That means that Yukon Energy is a publicly-owned company. Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. is a privately owned company of the ATCO Corporation in Alberta.

If you’re not sure who supplies you with power, check your electric bill. If it’s from Yukon Energy, then we are your power supplier. If you have any concerns about your electricity, you are encouraged to contact us. If your bill is from Yukon Electrical Company Ltd., then it is your supplier and you should speak with that company if you have questions or concerns. That being said, we are happy to answer any general questions you might have.

Welcome! | Thursday, February 12, 2009

Welcome to Yukon Energy’s public blog. Our purpose for setting up a blog is two-fold: the utility industry is a complicated one, particularly so in the Yukon where there are two separate utilities providing customers with power. We hope that through this blog we can help explain the intricacies of the business and our company, and give you more of an understanding of what we do, how we operate and what we stand for. This blog is also a mechanism to communicate directly with our customers, with the goal of providing you with the best service possible. Please take the time to read the Terms of Use for this blog, and bookmark the site so you can visit regularly. Thank you for stopping by.