Powering Tomorrow Together: Electricity Policy Direction Proceeding ID 2025-04

Naka Power Utilities (NWT) Ltd. (NAKA), together with the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC), and supported by the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT), has launched a territory-wide public engagement initiative to help shape the Integrated Power System Plan (IPSP). This major planning effort will support the Northwest Territories Public Utilities Board's (PUB) broader review of the future of electricity regulation, planning, and infrastructure development across the Northwest Territories. 

The IPSP will serve as the long-term roadmap for how electricity is generated, supplied, used, and managed across the Northwest Territories over the next 20+ years. The plan will assess future electricity needs, identify opportunities to expand renewable energy, sequence infrastructure investments, and create practical pathways to reduce reliance on diesel while maintaining affordability and reliability for northern communities.

"As one of the utilities entrusted with powering communities across the Northwest Territories, Naka Power Utilities (NWT) is proud to contribute to this important work shaping the territory's long-term energy future. The Integrated Power System Plan gives all of us an opportunity to better understand future electricity needs, identify realistic pathways for more renewable energy, and plan the infrastructure required to ensure a reliable and resilient system." 
- Cathy MacDonald, CEO, Naka Power Utilities (NWT)
 

Why Public Input Matters

Electricity systems in the NWT are unique, with 27 isolated power systems serving 33 communities. Some communities are supplied primarily by hydroelectric generation, while many continue to rely heavily on diesel or natural gas.

Under typical operating conditions, electricity generation in the NWT is approximately:

• 72% Hydro
• 22% Diesel
• 5% Natural Gas
• 1% Intermittent Renewable Energy

Because every community faces different opportunities and challenges, long-term electricity planning must reflect local priorities, economic development goals, infrastructure needs, and energy realities.

The IPSP engagement process provides Indigenous governments, community governments, businesses, non-government organizations, and residents with an opportunity to help shape the future of electricity in the North.

Feedback gathered through engagement activities will directly support NAKA and NTPC as they prepare submissions to the PUB under Proceeding ID 2025-04, which will establish the regulatory and planning framework for the future electricity system in the Northwest Territories. 

Built on Clear Territorial Policy Direction

The IPSP is a key requirement arising from the GNWT Electricity Policy Direction issued in April 2025. The policy direction established four core objectives for the future electricity system:

• Affordability
• Reliability
• Resilience
• Decarbonization 

To support these objectives, the PUB is now overseeing a comprehensive review of the regulatory, economic, and planning frameworks required to modernize the territory's electricity system. This includes increasing customer participation, supporting independent power producers, integrating renewable energy resources, modernizing electricity pricing and rate structures, and implementing long-term integrated power system planning.

What the PUB Review Will Examine

The Board has identified three major areas of focus for Proceeding ID 2025-04:

Get Involved

Stakeholders or Interveners, other than those already registered in this proceeding, who wish to participate are requested to notify the Board Secretary by August 14, 2026 at:

Doris Thomas, Board Secretary
Northwest Territories Public Utilities Board
203 – 62 Woodland Drive Hay River, NT X0E 1G1
Telephone: (867) 874-3944
Fax: (867) 874-3639
Email: Doris_Thomas@gov.nt.ca

• Stakeholders are participants who wish to provide comments or perspectives on matters under consideration but do not intend to participate as interveners.
• Interveners are participants who intend to actively participate by filing evidence, information requests, arguments, or other submissions on issues before the Board. 
   

Looking Ahead

The decisions made through the IPSP and PUB Proceeding ID 2025-04 will help shape the future of electricity in the Northwest Territories for decades to come. Together, these initiatives will establish the regulatory and planning frameworks needed to support reliable service, improve affordability, increase renewable energy development, strengthen community participation, and build a more resilient electricity system. 

Naka Power Utilities (NWT) is committed to ensuring northern communities have a meaningful voice in shaping that future and looks forward to working with residents, governments, businesses, and partners across the territory as this important work continues.
 

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