The Change in Energy Prices | Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Today's question: How can I find out how much energy prices have gone up for those in Whitehorse compared to the rest of the communities over the past 5 years? I want to know for electricity and oil. Thanks!

First of all I should explain that for the first 1,000 kilowatt hours per month, all residential customers in Yukon pay the same rate for electricity no matter what community you live in. Above 1,000 kilowatt hours per month, those communities that are on diesel (Old Crow for instance) pay a higher rate, but the majority of Yukon households stay within that first block of 1,000 kilowatt hours each month.

Over the last five years, Yukon Energy has not sought any increases in rates for residential customers. In fact once the Minto mine became our customer, we were able to get approval for a rate decrease for our residential customers of 2.47 percent. However in 2009 the utility that distributes most of the power in the territory, the Yukon Electrical Company Ltd., was granted permission to increase residential rates by 10.5 percent. So in the last five years, the net change in residential rates is that they have gone up approximately 8 percent.

As far as oil is concerned, you might try contacting the Yukon Housing Corporation, as I believe they keep track of oil prices.

Getting the Most Bang for the Conservation Buck | Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Yukon Energy wants to find out more about how people use electricity in the territory and where the greatest gains might be in terms of Demand Side Management (energy conservation). We've teamed up with the Yukon Electrical Company Ltd. and the Yukon government’s Department of Energy, Mines & Resources to collect this information.

We have hired ICF Marbek to do what's called a Conservation Potential Review. Marbek has a reputation of being one of Canada’s top energy consulting firms.

Through its research, the company will find answers to the following questions:

• How do Yukoners currently use energy (i.e. what percentage of energy consumption goes towards heat, hot water, lighting, plug loads, etc.)?
• How much power would Yukon need in future years if there weren't any Demand Side Management (DSM) initiatives put in place?
• How much potential is there in Yukon for energy savings through DSM initiatives?
• Where are the greatest gains to be made in terms of DSM?

The consultants will gather the information using customer billing data, stakeholder consultation and customer surveys. They'll also seek input from an advisory committee consisting of some Yukon and some outside representatives from energy sectors and industry.

The work will start later this month, with a final report expected by this fall.

Powering Hot Tubs | Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Today's question: I am curious to know if the power consumption of a hot tub heater represents a big percentage of the personal consumption during a Yukon winter.

This is a difficult question to answer because it depends on the size and energy efficiency rating of the hot tub, and how often you use it. As a rule of thumb though, if you have a six-person hot tub that you heat all the time but only use a couple of hours a week, and if it is well insulated (has an Arctic Package), then you can probably expect to pay between $60 and $75 a month in electricity costs for the unit in the winter. In the summer it will cost significantly less than that.

That being said, I have heard about one household that includes people who love to take long hot baths. With the installation of a hot tub, they apparently saw a decrease in their power bills because it costs them less to maintain the temperature of the water in the hot tub than it does to heat water for multiple daily baths. This is merely anecdotal though and I have no proof that this would be the case for other households.

Learning from the Next Generation | Monday, February 21, 2011

We've written a few times on this blog about the upcoming energy charrette, planned for March 7 - 9 in Whitehorse. Ahead of that, we're holding a series of public meetings, the second of which is taking place in Mayo tomorrow night from 7 - 9 p.m. at the community hall.

One of the things we are very excited about regarding the charrette is that an entire class of grade 11 experiential science students will participate. On Friday, Yukon Energy President David Morrison and Stuart Hickox of One Change spent an afternoon at the school, giving the students some background about the Corporation, about energy in the territory, and about just how important the students' views are in this planning process. Some of the students will be writing about their charrette experience on this blog, and we are very much looking foward to their insights.  Photo credit: Mike Thomas.

Sewage to Energy? | Friday, February 18, 2011

Today's question: Has Yukon Energy ever considered the most sustainable energy resource that is available in almost every community in the country including Yukon? Every major community has a sewage waste disposal plant. Decomposing sewage produces methane gas. The technology is available to construct bio-gas generatiors that would produce gas to power generators. With growing populations there is an never ending fuel source.

To date Yukon Energy has not looked at the possibility of turning sewage into electricity and it's not something we have any knowledge about. However we are open to looking at all options and we may well do some research into this subject. Thanks for the suggestion.

Trades and Technologies: Our Bread and Butter | Friday, February 18, 2011

Skills Canada Yukon is planning another territorial skills competition this April in Whitehorse. As in the past, Yukon Energy will be involved in this event. We think it's an important one for a whole lot of reasons.

Trades and technolgies are absolutely crucial to our business. That's why, in 2006, we started an apprenticeship program for Yukon Energy. It was a way of addressing the shortage of skilled workers in Canada and the challenge of attracting qualified candidates to the North. Perhaps more importantly, it gave us a chance to offer trades training and employment to Yukoners.

Since that time, about a dozen Yukoners have gone through our apprenticeship program in the areas of power systems electrician, powerline technician, and heavy duty equipment technician. Almost all of them continue to work for us now that they have their journey tickets. Two more are in the process of getting their tickets.

We also created a new scholarship a few years ago that was open to Yukon residents entering a trade pre-apprenticeship program or entry level trades program in the following areas:

electrician
powerline technician
electronics technician
heavy duty mechanic
industrial instrument mechanic
millwright (industrial mechanic)
machinist
You can learn more about our scholarship program by going to our website.

We're really looking forward to this year's territorial skills competition, taking place on April 29th at the Whitehorse campus of Yukon College. What's most exciting for us to to have the chance to show young people what can be achieved through trades and technologies. If you're a young person or know someone who is, spread the word. Hope to see you on April 29th. Photo credit: www.archbould.com

Pulling the Plug on Phantom Power | Thursday, February 17, 2011

We thought you might find this recent Globe and Mail article interesting and useful.

Yukon Energy’s Business Plan | Thursday, February 17, 2011

Our 2011 Business Plan is now available for you to read.

Explaining the Math | Thursday, February 17, 2011

Today's question: A recent article in the Whitehorse Star said: "Residential customers in the Yukon are currently paying 12.1 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 1,000 kWh or fewer...As industrial customers, the Minto Mine and the revamped Bellekeno Mine in Keno City are paying 10.5 cents per kilowatt hour...The two mines are paying more per kilowatt hour than it costs to provide them with electricity - approximately nine percent more. Residential customers on the other hand are paying 21 percent less than the true cost."  The math just doesn't make sense to me. Can you explain?

This is a very good question. A lot of people are not aware that it costs more for Yukon Energy to provide service to residential customers than it does for us to provide service to an industrial customer such as a mine. There are a number of reasons for this.

• Industry typically has a more consistent load (the amount of electricity it needs doesn’t vary from summer to winter) whereas with residential customers their energy demand peaks in the winter, when it costs us the most to produce electricity.
   
• Residential customers need special distribution services (lower voltage lines and related services necessary to get power to small customers) that industrial customers don’t need. This reduces the cost to industry service relative to residential service.
   
• Also keep in mind that industrial customers currently must pay 100 percent of the cost up front to be connected to the grid. Since they’ve already paid this cost, it doesn’t show up in their power rate. For residential customers, they only pay a portion of the cost to connect them to the grid (the utility pays the rest). The portion paid by residential customers is taken into account when their rate is set.

The difference in rates and costs between industrial and residential customers is not unusual or unique to Yukon. There are similar situations in other jurisdictions. These differences aren’t new in Yukon either. They go back to when the Faro mine was operating and was an industrial customer.

So the bottom line is that while it costs less to serve mines, they pay the full cost (and then some) of getting power. While it costs more to serve residential customers, they only pay about 80 percent of the true cost.