Électricité
Les Territoires du Nord-Ouest constituent une très vaste étendue et comptent sur un système de distribution de l’électricité à distance. On a principalement recours à trois sources d’énergie pour générer de l’électricité aux TNO : le carburant diesel [gazole], les ressources hydroélectriques et le gaz naturel.
Huit collectivités de la région du Grand lac des Esclaves peuvent compter sur la génération d’hydroélectricité, tandis que des centrales alimentées au gaz naturel fournissent de l’électricité aux habitants de Norman Wells. Les autres collectivités des TNO dépendent de centrales alimentées au carburant diesel, ce qui les rend plus vulnérables aux fluctuations des prix des carburants, tout en faisant de ces villages de gros émetteurs de gaz à effet de serre, par habitant.
En outre, l’approvisionnement sur de longues distances, les coûts de stockage des carburants et le manque de routes accessibles à l’année vers bon nombre de collectivités éloignées sont tous des facteurs qui contribuent aux coûts élevés de l’énergie.
En savoir plus au sujet de la génération d’électricité aux TNO (en anglais).
Overview
The Northwest Territories is an incredibly vast area and operates on a remote electrical system. Three main sources of energy used to generate electricity in the NWT are diesel fuel, hydro resources and natural gas.
Eight communities in the Great Slave Lake area use hydroelectric generation, while natural gas-fired power plants provide electricity to the community of Norman Wells. The remaining communities rely on diesel-generated electricity, leaving them susceptible to fluctuations in fuel prices, as well as making them high greenhouse gas emitters on a per capita basis.
Because of long-distance supply routes and fuel storage costs, the lack of year-round road access in many remote communities also contributes to high energy costs.
Read more about Electrical Generation in the NWT.
Electricity Suppliers
There are two major electricity distributers in the NWT.
- The Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC), a GNWT Crown Corporation.
- Northland Utilities Limited (NUL) consists of two companies, NUL Yellowknife and NUL NWT.
How is Electrical Energy Measured?
Electrical power is the rate of energy flow, and is measured in Watts (W). Electrical energy is equal to electrical power multiplied by the time it is used, and is usually measured in Kilowatt-hours (kWh).
A gigawatt hour (GWh) is equal to one billion watt-hours or one million kilowatt-hours. NWT communities used about 370 GWh in 2014-15
Key Facts
- Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is used for power generation in Inuvik.
- Imperial Oil in Norman Wells supplies NTPC with natural gas fired electricity.
- Outside of low water years, which happen every eight to ten years, the North Slave region has a 30% surplus in energy available.
- The South Slave hydro electric grid has an 8MW surplus hydroelectric capacity.
- More than 75% of the electricity provided to communities comes from renewable hydroelectricity.