Qulliq Energy Corporation has shifted to new territory-wide electricity rates for its customers.
The Minister responsible for QEC approved the following new rates to come into effect on October 1, 2022:
- Non-government residential rates at 62 cents per kilowatt hour
- Under Nunavut’s Electricity Subsidy Program, all non-government residential customers pay 50% of the Iqaluit rate (now 31 cents per kilowatt hour) on energy usage up to 700 kilowatt hours from April 1 to September 30 and 1000 kilowatt hours from October 1 to March 31. Any usage exceeding the subsidy limit is billed at full cost. The territory wide rate structure will provide significant savings to customers whose monthly usage exceeds the territorial subsidy.
- Non-government commercial rates at 51 cents per kilowatt hour
- Government residential rates at 93 cents per kilowatt hour
- Government commercial rates at 87 cents per kilowatt hour
To minimize the financial impacts of this rate change on non-government residential and commercial customers, government electricity rates have increased to lower rates for non-government customers. A new municipal tax-based rate was also approved at the same rates as non-government customers to avoid negative financial impacts on residents. The corporation was also approved to increase streetlight rates by 5%.
The final decision on the GRA followed a thorough review process by Nunavut’s Utility Rates Review Council (URRC) and public consultations.
How will this impact monthly billing for non-government residential and commercial customers?
The following changes can be expected for non-government customers across Nunavut as of October 1, 2022.
Due to the government’s subsidy program, residential customers whose energy usage is within 700 kilowatt hours from April 1 to September 30 and 1000 kilowatt hours from October 1 to March 31 would only see an increase of 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour. For the average customer who uses 500 kilowatt hours a month, this would increase amounts owing on monthly bills by approximately $8.
Commercial customers in Iqaluit would see an increase of 2.5 cents per kilowatt (5%) which would increase amounts owing on monthly bills by approximately $52 (with energy usage of 2000 kilowatt hour). Commercial customers in all other communities would see a decrease to the new territory-wide commercial rate. For example, Whale Cove previously had the highest commercial customer electricity rate in the territory. A commercial customer in this community could see a monthly bill decrease of approximately $1,303 (with energy usage of 2000 kilowatt hour) on their next monthly bill.
For more information on Customer Rates, please click here.