Whitehorse, YT – ATCO Electric Yukon has finished up another step in the application process for their proposed 5.2 percent rate hike for next year following concerns brought forward at a four day public hearing last week.
Among the concerns raised were affordability for Yukoners and ATCO exceeding profit guidelines established by the Yukon Utilities Board. Jay Massie, Vice President of Northern Development and Indigenous Relations at ATCO responded by saying that the profit guidelines were based on forecasts made during the last rate hike in 2017 and didn’t account for population growth and mining activity.
The application includes 5000 pages of information according to Massie and not all of the proposals within it are expected to be approved.
“It’s a big decision to walk through for the Yukon Utility Board and I’m pretty certain they wont agree 100 percent on everything that we’ve put forward but I think the vast majority that we’ve talked about like the reinvestment and all the work that needs to go into the power system, that I feel pretty comfortable with,” said Massie.
An interim 2.5 percent hike was approved by the board set for the beginning of next year with a full decision on the full hike scheduled for late spring in 2024.
