IQALUIT, Nunavut (April 16, 2019) – Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC) would like to remind customers that the second phase of the rate increase approved by the Minister responsible for QEC has come into effect on April 1, 2019.
After reviewing QEC’s General Rate Application submitted in 2017, the Minister responsible for QEC approved a 6.6% increase to Nunavut’s electricity rates, to be applied to customer bills over a two-year period. The first increase of 3.3% was effective May 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019. The second rate increase of 3.3% is now in effect and will begin to appear on customer bills covering electricity usage for the month of April.
“The new rates will help meet QEC’s revenue requirements and ensure important infrastructure upgrades can be completed, “said Bruno Pereira, QEC President and CEO. “The increase was phased in over two years to help reduce the impact to our customers.”
QEC would also like to inform customers that the fuel rider charge of 1.25 cents per kilowatt hour, applied to customer bills for the six-month billing period of November 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019, has ended.
A fuel rider is not required for the six-month period of April 1 to September 30, 2019, as a direct result of the recent fuel price reduction that came into effect April 1, 2019. A fuel price review in the fall will determine if a fuel rider will be required for the next six months.
The new electricity rates, effective April 1, 2019, are available at www.qec.nu.ca.
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Media contact:
Renee Boucher
Acting Manager, Corporate Communications
Qulliq Energy Corporation
(867) 979-7524
Backgrounder
Impact on residential customers
Based on the new rates effective April 1, 2019, residential customers will not see an increase on their monthly bill provided they receive the Nunavut Electricity Subsidy, have consumption within the subsidy threshold, and have similar monthly electricity usage. Customers who do exceed their threshold of electricity usage will see an increase.
There is no expected change to customer bills because the rate increase on April 1, 2019, is offset by the fuel rider charge that ended on March 31, 2019.
The increase does not affect customers in public housing.
General Rate Application
A General Rate Application (GRA) is a request to change electricity rates. QEC submitted a GRA to the Minister Responsible for QEC on October 18, 2017. The final decision on the GRA followed a thorough review process by the Utility Rates Review Council (URRC) and public consultations.
Fuel Rider
A fuel rider is an additional charge or refund on customer bills that is intended to reflect the difference between the fuel prices reflected in the electricity rates and the actual cost of fuel paid by QEC. This assessment is completed every six months.