They’re Back! | Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The trumpeter swans have returned to the Yukon and so has Yukon Energy's swam cam. Enjoy!

Yukon government photo.

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Getting to the COR of the Matter | Friday, March 26, 2010

Are you a contrator who does work for us? Then here's some information that's important for you to know about.

You will soon be required to be Certificate of Recognition (COR) certified. The COR is issued to employers who develop and implement health and safety programs that meet the highest safety standards as set out by the Northern Safety Network and the Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board. 

Yukon Energy became COR certified last year. Now, in continuing our efforts to make Yukon Energy as safe a workplace as it can possibly be, we are phasing in the COR requirement as part of our tendering and contracting process.

Phase I will become effective July 1, 2010 and applies to construction contracts valued at $500,000 or more.

Phase II begins July 1, 2011 and applies to construction contracts valued at $100,000 or more.

Phase III begins July 1, 2012 and applies to construction contracts of any value.

For more information, please call (867) 393-5335 or 393-5353 or send an email to melaine.pettefer@yec.yk.ca.

 

 

 

 

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Unravelling the Mysteries of the Utilities Board Process | Thursday, March 25, 2010

Yukon Energy and the Yukon Electrical Company Limited have filed a joint Phase II Application to our regulator, the Yukon Utilities Board. Before your eyes glaze over, let us explain what a Phase II Application is and why this might be important to you.

You might remember that in 2008 and 2009 each utility went to the Utilities Board separately for what are known as revenue requirement hearings. This process allows the YUB to determine how much money each company needs to operate and what the overall amount is that can be charged to customers for electricity.

During the Phase II hearings, the Utilities Board uses the information from the Revenue Requirement Hearings to do a couple of things:

  • It recommends how much of that overall amount is to be allocated to each class of customer (resident, small business, government and industry). In other words, the YUB decides who pays for what amount of the pie. You might not know that while business and industry now pay 100 percent of what it costs to provide them with power, residential customers currently only pay about 70 percent of the true cost of their power. They are subsidized by the government, which pays 130 percent of the cost.

  • It recommends how the rates within each class should be designed. For example, the Utilities Board could determine that people who use under a certain amount of electricity per month should get a reduction on their bill while those using a lot of electricity each month should pay a higher rate. That already happens to a certain extent, but Yukon Energy and Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. are asking that there be even more incentives for people to conserve electricity.

The Phase II hearing will also deal with proposed changes to the terms under which the utilities provide service to customers. This covers everything from rights of the utility to access land (such as when a linesperson has to go onto private property to access transmission lines) to the rights of a customer to have their meter tested, as well as the level of service fees.

If you want to know more, the entire Phase II hearing application can be found on our web site. As always, if you have questions, please send them our way and we will do our best to answer them.

 

 

 

 

» 0 Comments     » Topics: Regulatory

Getting All Our Ducks in a Row | Friday, March 19, 2010

Yukon Energy would like to respond to concerns by the NDP and the Yukon Conservation Society about recent construction contract announcements regarding the Mayo B and Carmacks-Stewart Stage 2 projects. Their fear is that we are moving forward with construction before we have received all the necessary permits and permissions. That is not the case.

In terms of the Carmacks-Stewart line, Stage 2 is fully permitted. It has gone through an extensive environmental (YESAB) screening and has also been reviewed by the Yukon Utilities Board (YUB). We have all permits we need to proceed with construction. In fact line clearing on this project began this past November.
 
On Mayo B, Yukon Energy has consistently informed both YESAB and the YUB that, prior to securing the necessary documents and permits, we would be moving to award a construction contract as well as to purchase key long term equipment.  Yukon Energy has also consistently told both YESAB and the YUB that we cannot start construction, and obviously will not allow the contractor to start construction on Mayo B before all necessary permits are in place. 
 
The Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board has already issued its draft screening report on the Mayo B project. The report confirms that YESAB is prepared to recommend this project move ahead as long as certain conditions are met. We see no reason why we can't meet those conditions, which are fairly standard requirements for utilities involved in hydro projects.  
 
While we wait for YESAB’s final recommendations and for the conclusion of the Yukon Utilities Board process, there are things we can do to ensure we have everything in order and are ready to go as soon as the permits and permissions are issued. The contract we recently signed with Kiewit allows that company to work with us to prepare for construction, thus ensuring that the Mayo plant can be in operation by our March 31, 2012 federal funding deadline. That work includes things such as planning and engineering, going through the process needed for hiring subcontractors, and setting up the work camp near the Mayo B construction site.
 
From Yukon Energy’s point of view, it would be irresponsible for us to sit and do nothing until the YUB and the YESAB processes are complete, since that would cause us to miss our project completion deadline of March 31, 2012. By missing the deadline we would not receive the $71 million that has been committed by the federal government. Without Mayo B we would be forced to use more diesel, resulting in higher electricity bills for Yukoners.
 
We are trying to do right by Yukoners. We think Mayo B is a good project for the territory and we are doing everything we can to ensure it proceeds. 

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A Busy Birthday | Friday, March 12, 2010

Today is Yukon Energy's 23rd birthday. We were incorporated on March 12, 1987.

It's been a busy but productive birthday! Not only did we sign a construction contract for the Mayo B project, but we also held a kick off meeting with the contractor who tomorrow starts building Stage 2 of the Carmacks-Stewart line.

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We Have Things Well in Hand | Friday, March 12, 2010

We thought you might be interested in learning more about what Yukon Energy is doing to meet the electrical needs of Yukoners now and into the future. Our latest strategic plan lays out our priorities for the next two years. You can read the full plan here. In a nutshell, here are the four main areas we are focussing on:

Reliable Power
The goal is to reduce the number of controllable outages and make our system more efficient. Two thirds of the core capital budget is being dedicated to reliability improvements for the next five years.

Work is under way to improve the performance of our hydro generating equipment and transmission lines. The Whitehorse-Aishihik-Faro transmission system will be joined to the Mayo-Dawson grid so Yukon Energy’s hydro assets can be managed as one unit.  
 
Yukon Energy is also working with Yukon Electrical to find ways to improve service to distribution customers and to localize outages.
 
Meet future demand with clean power
Yukon Energy is planning for the future. Our challenge is to meet an increasing demand for electricity with clean, renewable energy that works well with our existing hydro infrastructure. We are looking at all possible sources of clean energy, including wind, geo-thermal and additional hydro, to keep to a minimum the need to burn diesel for power generation.
 
Establish a buffer of surplus renewable energy
To ensure Yukon has a continuous supply of clean energy, resource planning must include a buffer of energy projects that are 'shelf ready' but only built if required. 
 
Work with customers to better meet future energy needs
Yukon Energy cannot fulfill our mandate in isolation. We must work to engage Yukoners so we can collectively create a clean energy future. Our goals are to better define commercial client needs and continue to explore opportunities to work with First Nations and the private section on energy projects.
 
We are also working with Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. and the Yukon government to establish independent power producer and net metering policies and develop a conservation/Demand Side Management program.

 

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Carcross Meeting | Monday, March 8, 2010

As you may know, we have been holding a series of public meetings in the Southern Lakes area to tell residents about our work to find more clean, renewable energy to meet the growing demand for electricity. Our latest meeting is set for this Wednesday night, March 10th, at 7 p.m. in Carcross. The meeting will take place at the Carcross Community Club. It will give people a chance to ask questions about an idea we have to increase winter storage on Marsh and Atlin Lakes, therefore providing more water to our Whitehorse plant in the late winter, when we need it the most for electrical generation.

It's important for you to understand that no decisions have been made to move forward with this concept. We must first gather a lot of information to determine if it is a viable project. Input from you will help determine how best to move forward. We hope to see as many Carcross residents at the meeting as possible.

 

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