Honouring Ed Chambers | Friday, April 24, 2009

Once again this year, Yukon Energy will award several scholarships to Yukoners studying at post-secondary institutions. This year, we have renamed one of our scholarships to honour a former member of Yukon Energy’s Board of Directors. The trades scholarship that we set up a couple of years ago has been re-named the Ed Chambers Memorial Trades Scholarship.

Ed Chambers sat on our Board from 1991 to 2004, making him one of the longest serving members we’ve ever had. He was a tremendous asset to Yukon Energy and when he passed away in the fall of 2007 we wanted to do something to recognize the contribution he made. Since Mr. Chambers was a mechanic and heavy equipment operator by trade, we thought offering a trades scholarship in his name would be a good way of honouring him.

                    Ed Chambers

Our Board Chair’s Salary | Thursday, April 23, 2009

There has been a fair bit of media coverage lately over the issue of the salary of the Chair of our Board of Directors. The accusation is that Mr. Phelps, who also happens to be Chair of our parent company the Yukon Development Corporation (YDC), was paid more than he was allowed in 2008. While we want to set the record straight, we think it might also be helpful to you if we provide an explanation of the relationship betwen YDC and Yukon Energy.

The Yukon Development Corporation is a crown corporation of the Yukon government. Yukon Energy, in turn, is a subsidiary of YDC. While the two of us have a parent/child relationship, we are separate corporations with separate mandates, financial structures and remuneration policies for board members.

There is a salary cap of $38,000 for the Chair of YDC. Mr. Phelps has never been paid above that amount by the Development Corporation. 

As Chair of Yukon Energy, he is paid a separate honoraria for the work he does for us. In 2008 Yukon Energy paid him just over $57,000. This was more than in the past because he did more work for us in 2008 than in previous years. In addition to his regular board meetings, he devoted a large amount of time investigating the viability of geothermal energy in Yukon.

Both corporations are audited each year by the Auditor General, and she has always found our books to be in good standing in this regard.

As you likely know, Yukon is a small jurisdiction and it is not uncommon for the same individual to sit on more than one board. Obviously those individuals are paid for their work on each board from the funds available to that board. Mr. Phelps' situation is no different.

We hope this helps clear up any confusion. If not, feel free to contact us with any questions you might have.

Southern Lakes Public Meetings | Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Every spring for the past several years, Yukon Energy has met with people who live in the Marsh Lake and Tagish areas. The purpose is to provide local residents with information about what we expect the peak lake levels to be by late summer. Early indications are that although water may be higher than normal, we don't expect to see a repeat of two years ago, when there were record breaking levels.

This year, meetings are scheduled for the following days:

• Tagish Community Club: Monday April 27th
• Marsh Lake Community Hall: Tuesday April 28th

Both meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m.

If you live or own property in the Southern Lakes area, we hope you can attend. Please pass the word on to others who you think would be interested.

Update on Swan Cam | Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Unfortunately, our swan cam has not been working properly over the last couple of days. Our technical staff are working to fix the problem and we hope to have the camera available for viewing once again in a day or two. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Return of the Swan Cam | Friday, April 17, 2009

Last spring, as a community service, Yukon Energy set up a web cam on the northwest end of M'Clintock Bay in the Southern Yukon. The camera allows Yukoners to view, in real time, the trumpeter swans and other water fowl that stop in the area each spring to feed and rest before heading north. 

The web cam, which can be found here, proved to be so popular that we have re-activated it again this year (mid-April to mid-May). Instructions are given on the web page about how to view the camera.

We have found the best time to view the birds is in the late afternoon or evening, when the sun is behind the camera. Mornings are good as well, although early morning fog can sometimes obscure the view.

Please note that at this time, only PC users can access the web cam. However we are working on installing a new program that will make the web cam accessible to Mac users as well.

Enjoy the web cam and please tell your friends about it! In June, we will move the camera to the Whitehorse Rapids Fishladder, where you'll be able to view the Chinook salmon and freshwater fish that travel the ladder in the summer months.

A Territory Full of Talent | Thursday, April 16, 2009

Over the last several days, Yukon Energy has had the chance to be involved first hand in community projects that show just how much talent there is in the territory.

On April 3, we sponsored the Grade 11 and 12 category of a workplace safety student video competition organized by the Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board. All the entries were of a high calibre, and we want to recognize the winners and thank them for their work, which in all cases provides some important safety messages we should all take to heart.

The winners are:
First Place: Graham Rudge, for his video Use the Brain.
Second Place: Jonathan Quarton, for Rewinding Time.
Honourable Mention: Willow Gamberg for her video about various workplace hazards.

All the winners are students of the MAD (Music, Art and Drama) Program at Wood Street School in Whitehorse. 

Over the Easter week-end, Dawson City held its 10th Annual International Short Film Festival. A number of awards were given out, including two sponsored by our Corporation: the Yukon Energy MITY (Made in the Yukon) Award, and the Yukon Energy MITY Emerging Talent Award.

We would like to congratulate all the winners:

MITY Award:
First Place: How People Got Fire by Daniel Janke
Second Place: Dog=God by Lulu Keating and Karen Hines

MITY Emerging Talent Award:
First Place: Writer's Block by Andrew Sharp
Second Place: No Fixed Address by Naomi Mark
Honourable Mention: Game Over by Marie-Eve Julien

Yukon Energy has a mandate to give back some of our profits to community groups, and we take that mandate very seriously. If you would like to know more about our Corporate Contributions program, you can find details on our web site or you can leave a comment on this blog and we will respond.

Power Outage | Thursday, April 16, 2009

We have had a number of phone calls about this morning's power outage in the Southern Yukon. While it would be best for you to speak with Yukon Electrical Company Limited (YECL) to get the full details, we understand that the outage occurred after a squirrel caused a problem with YECL's equipment in Whitehorse.

Yukon Energy is working with YECL on some changes to the transmission system. The changes will allow the two utilities to limit future outages to small segments of the transmission system instead of impacting the entire grid. We expect this plan to be implemented by the end of this year.

Planning for the Future | Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Yukon Energy is constantly looking ahead to the future. We know that by 2011, we will likely need a fair bit more renewable energy than we have now (even if no new mines come on stream). If we don't have that extra green power, we'll have to use more diesel to generate electricity. That's something we simply don't want to do.

In looking for more renewable energy, our first priority is to get the most we possibly can out of our existing hydro facilities, before we build new ones. As such, we are looking at expanding the existing Mayo hydro plant, a potential project we call Mayo B.

No decision has been made at this time to move forward with this proposed project. In February of this year we filed an application to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board (YESAB). However this filing is just one step in the process.

For the last several months we have been consulting with local governments, stakeholders and the public. These consultations will continue. Public involvement is important to help Yukon Energy plan and shape this project and to help YESAB carry out its assessment of potential project effects.

 We are also working closely with the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun to reach an Memorandium of Understanding and a Project Agreement. Various permits and government approvals are required and the project needs a new or revised water licence from the Yukon Water Board. Yukon Energy has also committed to taking all projects worth more than $3 million to our regulator, the Yukon Utilities Board, for review.

The proposed Mayo B project involves building a new powerhouse about three kilometres downstream from the existing powerhouse. This would double the amount of energy that can be generated from the Mayo River. No changes would be required at Wareham Lake or to the Wareham dam. The current plan is to maintain the existing powerhouse for use as required in the future. 

A major part of the Mayo B project would be the construction of a mechanism to divert water from the existing intake to a new powerhouse. Possible options include building a canal or an underground tunnel to carry water to the new building.

You can find more details about this project here and here, or you are welcome to contact us for further information.

Bill Comparisons | Tuesday, April 7, 2009

We thought you might find it useful to see how Yukon power bills compare with those in the rest of Canada, and across the North. You can see that we are the least expensive location in the North, and we are on par with a number of Southern locations. The blue portion of the chart indicates the average monthly total amount of a customer's bill; the red portion indicates any rate subsidy provided.