Latest news with #YukonEnergy
CBC
27-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Whitehorse businessman Mike Pemberton joins race to lead Yukon Liberals
Yukon Liberals will get a chance to vote for their new leader this time. Businessman Mike Pemberton launched his campaign for the Liberal leadership in Whitehorse Tuesday, promising action on affordability, housing, health care and public safety. His candidacy means the first contested leadership race for the Liberals in two decades. "I have immense respect for all citizens of Yukon," he said. "I want to be part of a solution and and not part of a problem. I want to be able to help." Pemberton is the former owner of a furniture store in downtown Whitehorse. He's served on the Whitehorse and Yukon chambers of commerce, the Yukon Development Corporation and the board of Yukon Energy. He said that experience makes him a "right of centre" candidate who will seek to ease environmental regulations and make things easier on the private sector. "I want to see how we can work through that to make that easier for those corporations, those medium and those small businesses, how we can work with them to make things better and they can become more profitable because profit is not a dirty word," Pemberton said. "Profit makes the world go round." The deadline for leadership candidate nominations is May 29. Each candidate will have to pay a non-refundable nomination fee of $7,000 to the Yukon Liberal Party. The Liberal leadership convention will take place in Whitehorse June 19. Former Kwanlin Dün First Nation Chief Doris Bill has already announced her candidacy for the party leadership. That means Liberals will vote for their leader for the first time since 2005, when Arthur Mitchell defeated former premier Pat Duncan. Current leader Ranj Pillai and former leader Sandy Silver were both acclaimed.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Yukon, B.C. agree to work together on electrical grid connection
The governments of Yukon and B.C. have signed an agreement to work together toward connecting their electrical grids, something Yukon's premier is touting as a "nation-building" project. "I think all Yukoners know this is a really good pathway for the future of the Yukon. It's going to make sure that we can build projects, mineral projects," said Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai. "It's also going to be able to sustain our energy needs, when we just think about the growth of the Yukon." The memorandum of understanding was signed Thursday as Canada's western premiers met in Yellowknife. It commits Yukon and B.C. to "collaboration through the exploration and planning phases" of the project, according to a joint news release. A grid connection with B.C. has long been on the Yukon government's wish list. Last year, Premier Ranj Pillai called on Ottawa to pony up $60 million for the project, and in September, the federal government "conditionally approved" up to $40 million to study a 765-kilometre transmission line. Yukon's grid — which is not currently connected to the rest of North America — is under increasing strain to meet the local demand for power as the territory's population keeps growing and the territory's own green energy strategy calls for electrifying large swaths of the economy. Meantime, Yukon Energy — the territory's power corp. — has applied this month to hike electricity rates by 34 per cent over the next three years to help pay for $350 million in "essential" upgrades to the aging system. Pillai said the agreement signed with B.C. on Thursday is to ensure that the $40-million in federal funding announced last year can be used. "We have the resources that are required, but it's just to get that commitment with British Columbia to, as well, look at the potential of selling power to us, or to buy power from us in the future," Pillai said. At a news conference Thursday, B.C. Premier David Eby pointed to how reliant the Yukon is on diesel as an example of how this deal will benefit both areas. "Electricity from B.C. would create jobs in B.C. and opportunity in British Columbia, as well as in the Yukon. And I'm looking forward to work with Premier Pillai on that," he said. The premier said his government is focusing on the project right now because of Prime Minister Mark Carney's interest in so-called nation-building projects. "We're going to need Canada to come to the table with a huge investment on the major capital budget. We can't put this on the shoulders of Yukoners, it's too expensive to do. But it will lead to so much potential for our country," Pillai said. "We think it's a nation-building project, and we think it's of national consequence." Pillai said the grid connection will help spur new development and energy projects in the Yukon and northern B.C. He said when mining companies express interest in investing in the Yukon, they "always" ask about the territory's long-term energy strategy. He also said First Nations' involvement in both B.C. and the Yukon is the "foundation" of the project. "We're looking at other transmission lines that have been built across the country where there's been significant Indigenous ownership, and we want to use that model," Pillai said.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Yukon Energy applies for 34% power rate hike over next 3 years
Social Sharing The Yukon Energy Corporation is proposing to hike power rates for customers over the next few years by about 34 per cent, to help pay for hundreds of millions of dollars in "essential" work to keep the system functioning. Residential customers could see their monthly bills go up by about $25 to $30 on average, by 2027 if the plan goes ahead. Rates would also go up for industrial customers. The publicly-owned utility has submitted its general rate application for 2025-2027 to the Yukon Utilities Board. The board will undertake a public review of the 617-page application over the coming months. Yukon Energy is proposing to spend more than $350 million on "system-wide investments" over the next three years. That corporation says there are more than 150 projects it needs to undertake as soon as possible. "It is a lot," acknowledged Yukon Energy CEO Chris Milner. "I think it it speaks to the challenges that we're facing here in the Yukon, but really the challenges that I think we're seeing across Canada. And we're seeing this need to invest in energy systems, kind of all at once — and it does seem like it's all at once." Milner says Yukon's energy infrastructure is aging, as the territory's population continues to grow. That's putting increasing pressure on the system, he said. "And when you have pressure on the system, you need to invest in it to keep it reliable and strong," Milner said. Rockslides threaten Mayo facility A major portion of the proposed work is $180-million in upgrades to the Mayo generating station, including work to protect the station from ongoing rockslides that threaten the facility with "a high potential for catastrophic failure in the near future," according to the rate application. "Full slope stabilization is required as soon as feasible to protect the plant from a global failure which could be catastrophic," the application reads. Other work at the Mayo facility — one of three hydro facilities in the territory — would involve reconstructing a spillway and replacing other aging infrastructure. Milner called the work needed at Mayo "significant, and it needs to move forward, you know, starting today." "We're certainly working with government to support the Mayo project, in particular to help offset the future pressures that would come to ratepayers for covering large projects such as that," he said. Other projects detailed in the rate application include a grid-scale battery energy storage system for Whitehorse, replacing diesel generators in Faro and Whitehorse, and upgrading Dawson City's local power system. "What we've done with this application is present the must-have scenario we're in. We're really into the foundational requirements for the system," Milner said. "We're presenting a case that is compelling, that these these investments are required." The Yukon Utilities Board review is public and is expected to take about a year, Milner said. The board is a quasi-judicial agency in Yukon, operating at arms' length from government and mandated to "ensure that Yukoners have safe electricity service at just and reasonable rates," according to its website. It says reviewing a rate application involves looking at "the financial requirements of the utility, such as fair return and impacts on the customer.
CBC
17-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Conservationists, Yukon First Nation say decision on Whitehorse dam could help salmon
Some Yukoners say there's a lot the territorial and federal governments have done right with a recent decision of theirs on the Whitehorse dam. Earlier this month, the governments waved the project through and onto the licensing phase — which is in the purview of the Yukon Water Board — but subject to a raft of new provisions, many of which deal with salmon, First Nations' land use and, connected to those, vested rights. The board is responsible for issuing water licences. And it's those changes that some take as a sign of progress — correcting what the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board either missed or fell short of in its evaluation of the project. Yukon Energy has been working to relicense the dam for some time. The company is seeking a 20-year licence from the regulator. It initally proposed a 25-year licence, but that changed when Yukon Energy and Premier Ranj Pillai, Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta'an Kwäch'än Council signed an agreement for a 20-year term instead. Carcross/Tagish First Nation did not sign that agreement. "Hopefully this will be a turning point for the facility and things can be done better going into this new license, whatever length that might be," said Catherine Ford-Lammers, a Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizen and the nation's lead on the file. "I think the evaluation report, when it came out, was definitely lacking those hard concrete mitigations. It was a bit disappointing," Ford-Lammers said. "Hopefully, all the parties can come together and I guess agree on the best mitigations regardless of costs or any of that sort of engineering plans and just really help to bring those salmon back." Among other things, the governments are requiring Yukon Energy to immediately improve fish passage — including downstream passage — to reduce fish getting sucked into, for example, the turbines and killed until long-term plans are in place. Otherwise, they are calling on the company to develop a Traditional Knowledge framework and to create an annual monitoring program to determine fish passage and mortality rates. Elizabeth MacDonald, vice chair of the Yukon Salmon Sub-committee, said the decision could help lead to fewer salmon killed by the dam. As reported by CBC News, roughly one-third of year-old wild smolts swimming through the dam could be killed. "If Yukon Energy can alter the way the turbines are operated or put exclusions in for juvenile fish or give them another route that's safer, then we could decrease that mortality -- the less deaths, the more that are gonna survive, which is better for the population," MacDonald said. Asked whether there are any shortcomings with the decision, MacDonald said impacts of the hatchery on wild salmon aren't spelled out. That's an issue the sub-committee advocated to have included in the project assessment. "And the hatchery has helped maintain the population, but maybe hasn't kept them as wild as we'd like to see," she said, noting that wild fish are more adapted to their environments. "There's a lot of evidence around decreased success of the offspring, but also maybe smaller fish," MacDonald said. "We wanted to try and avoid those. And one way to do that is by decreasing the hatchery involvement in the program." Sebastian Jones, wildlife analyst with the Yukon Conservation Society, said decision bodies usually water down assessments. In this case, the reverse is true, he said. Jones credits the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) with remaining unmoveable during a crucial time for the salmon. "I am pleased that the federal decision body, primarily DFO, was not swayed by local political considerations and stood up for salmon and its habitat," Jones said in an email. In August, Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta'an Kwäch'än Council endorsed a long-term licence, saying in a letter the needs for electricity are too great to delay. Jones told CBC News recently the project should have been assessed by, if not the executive committee, a panel review, owing to the complexity of the project and vast implications. Yukon Energy seeks stopgap Yukon Energy's current operating licence expires May 31. With that, the company is up against the clock and in the middle of a regulatory process far outside of its control. That's why it's applied for a 60-day licence — a stopgap, in a bid to keep the dam running and your lights on. In its application, it appears Yukon Energy doubts the long-term licence will be relicensed in time. The company says the 60-day licence would ensure operations won't be disrupted, while freeing up more time to address outstanding concerns. If approved by the water board, Yukon Energy would be allowed to run the dam from June 1st to July 30th. The application doesn't deviate from the way the company currently operates the dam. "No such renewable alternative is available in the Yukon, and in the near term, existing capacity would need to be replaced with new thermal generation capacity to maintain dependable winter supply, which would take about two years to assess and permit," the application states. Yukon Energy presents a hypothetical scenario where the dam is taken offline and replaced with fossil fuel plants. The application states in this instance greenhouse gas emissions would greatly impact the territory's climate change goals — that is reducing emissions by 45 per cent by the end of the decade. Emissions would increase by 192 kilotonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to a 30 per cent increase over the territory's total emissions in 2020, the application states. Ford-Lammers calls the prospect of a short-term licence disappointing and a double standard. "We've been saying throughout this whole process for the past three years that they should be seeking a short term licence," she said. The Carcross/Tagish First Nation wants to see no longer than a 10-year licence granted by the regulator. Ford-Lammers said this would ensure safeguards for salmon are quickly delivered. "This time that we're in with climate change and so many unknowns. It just doesn't seem that we should be going with long term water use licenses anymore," Ford-Lammers said. The Yukon Water Board has launched a public engagement period on the relicensing project. That process closes on May 16.
CBC
11-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Yukon Energy pitches $100M plan for new fossil-fuel plants in Whitehorse
Yukon Energy says it's still committed to renewable energy — but says that in the short term, the territory needs more capacity to burn fossil fuels. "Without a stable electrical system today, we cannot add more renewables in the future," said Chris Milner, the company's president and CEO. The public utility this week released its new five-year plan to meet the territory's growing demand for energy. That plan calls for, among other infrastructure upgrades, two new thermal plants — which would burn LNG or diesel — to be built near Whitehorse over the next few years. Those plants would provide up to 45 megawatts in new generating capacity. Right now, most of Yukon's energy is renewable and produced at the utility's Whitehorse, Mayo and Aishihik hydro dams. Yukon Energy also rents diesel generators to use mainly as a backup or supplementary source of power when demand is high in the winter months. The utility has also relied more than usual on those diesel generators this past winter while the damaged Aishihik facility has been offline for repairs. The territory's grid has also become increasingly strained in recent years as the territory's population, and demand for power, steadily grows. The company says that's expected to continue for the foreseeable future and so it's time to take action now to ensure a reliable supply of energy with backup capacity. Yukon Energy's plans would see one new thermal power centre built next year somewhere in "south Whitehorse," and another built in 2027-28 in "north Whitehorse." The total cost is expected to be more than $100 million. Milner said around 75 per cent of the territory's power is used in the Whitehorse area, so that's why the new plants will be built near the city. He described the five-year plan as "chapter one" of the utility's longer-term plans, which include more renewable energy such as wind and solar. "Stabilizing the grid means having enough power every second of every day of every month, throughout the year," Milner said. "This plan that we needed to advance now really needs to take care of our needs today and over the short term — so that we can continue to drive forward with these larger, renewable energy plans." Minister 'gaslighting' about support for plan, opposition says Six years ago, the company was also proposing to build a new 20-megawatt thermal power plant in Whitehorse, but the plan was ultimately scrapped following public consultations and a subsequent report that described how many Yukoners weren't so hot on the idea, and preferred Yukon Energy to pursue renewable energy options such as biomass, geothermal, solar and wind power. At the time, Premier Ranj Pillai — then the territory's energy minister — trumpeted the decision as "good news for Yukoners." "Yukoners have expressed concerns about this project at a time when we need to be focused on the future and how to meet our energy needs in the face of climate change emergency," Pillai said at the time. Now, the territory's new energy minister, John Streicker, is throwing his support behind the utility's plans, saying there's not much choice, at least in the short term. "I've always known that we need to have thermal backup," Streicker told reporters on Wednesday. "Why diesels first? Because all of the growth that's been happening. So it's time." As for how Yukon Energy's plans will be paid for, Streicker said "those conversations haven't happened yet." Opposition parties blasted the government for its seeming about-face when it comes to relying on fossil fuels. Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon called it an "admission that the past nine years of Liberal government and the energy strategy that they have pursued to this date have been an abject failure." Dixon said he's in favour of the plan "because it's necessary." However, he also accused the government of "gaslighting" Yukoners about where it has stood in the past. "It's just stunning to see now that they're going to turn around and not only invest $100 million in fossil fuels, but try to say that this was their plan all along," Dixon said. "It's gaslighting by the minister to try to suggest that he'd always wanted this to happen, that he always wanted to invest in thermal resources. That's simply not true." NDP MLA Lane Tredger professed shock that the utility's five-year plan "stops talking about renewables, for now." "The Yukon government standing behind this plan means they've entirely abandoned their climate change goals around renewable energy, and that's pretty shocking," Tredger said. "If we're not starting [renewable energy] projects for next another five years, we're not going to be finishing them for another 10 or 15 years. We need to be doing that now. And that is really very noticeably absent from the plan." Yukon Energy's CEO points to the utility's longer-term plans which do include more emphasis on developing renewable energy projects. "The Yukon is a small place. It's going to take an all-Yukon approach to lift those projects, not just a utility approach. So coming together and really investing in future renewables is what we need to do, and that's what this [five-year] plan sets the stage for," Milner said. "The needs of today are about having enough power in the winter."
