News & Events

Check this section for Yukon Energy's latest news and coming events.

If you have questions about any of the information posted here, please contact:

Lisa Wiklund
Manager, Community Relations
Yukon Energy Corporation
Phone: (867) 393-5398
Email: Lisa.Wiklund@yec.yk.ca

Nov 14, 2017  2

Yukon Energy and Victoria Gold Sign Power Purchase Agreement

Yukon Energy and Victoria Gold have signed an agreement for the supply of grid power to Victoria Gold’s Eagle Gold Mine near Mayo. The agreement was signed on November 10th and submitted to the Yukon Utilities Board (YUB) for review the same day (last Friday). The signing of this Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is a key step towards the connection of the mine to our grid. However Victoria Gold must complete a final round of financing to move on to the next phase of construction next spring. If the Utilities Board approves the PPA, power sales to Eagle Mine would contribute $100 million or more in additional revenues to Yukon Energy over the expected ten-year mine life. This new revenue will benefit all electrical consumers in the territory, and will result in a one- to two-percent reduction in rates for other electricity customers. The agreement commits Victoria Gold to covering the full costs of connecting to Yukon Energy’s main line. As well, the mine will pay most of the costs of a new substation, it will cover YEC’s expenses to negotiate the PPA, and it will pay the costs to make system improvements that will benefit all on-grid Yukon communities. The value of Victoria Gold’s investment in the substation, system improvements, and Yukon Energy’s costs totals more than $11 million. The mine will connect initially to the existing Stewart to Keno City transmission line, which can meet the majority of Victoria Gold’s power needs for the first one-to-two years of its operation. However, the existing line is at end of life and must be replaced as soon as possible. Yukon Energy is continuing to work with the Yukon Development Corporation and the Yukon government to secure funding for a new transmission line. The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun (NND) has indicated its support for both the Eagle Gold Mine and an upgrade to the Stewart to Keno City transmission line. Yukon Energy is working with NND to reach a project agreement for the prospective line. The Eagle Gold Mine expects to go into production in by mid-2019. Its load requirements would be highest during the summer months, when we have surplus renewable energy. The mine’s operations would slow down in December, January, and February when its requirements for electricity would drop to about half of its summer needs. If Victoria Gold is connected to the grid, Yukon Energy will meet their load with a mix of hydro and thermal resources (most of the thermal will be LNG). The amount of thermal will reduce once more new renewable generation can be added to the system. This emphasizes the need to proceed with renewable projects identified in our 2016 Resource Plan. However a grid connection saves up to 53,000 tonnes per year of greenhouse gas emissions when compared to the mine self-generating using diesel.   A copy of the full application submitted to the YUB can be found at the bottom of this page.  
News, Energy Supply, Reliability
Nov 20, 2017  1

Insurance Against an Unlikely Outage

If you drive past our Whitehorse facility this week, you may notice some activity going on near our diesel plant and substation. A trailer will arrive on site with four transformers that will be offloaded and connected to the substation. At the same time, four diesel generators of two megawatts each will arrive in Whitehorse and will be stored at a local business off site. This equipment is being brought to Whitehorse as insurance against the very unlikely event that we have an extended winter power outage and lose access to our largest source of generation, our Aishihik hydro plant. We don’t have any reason to believe there will be such an event, but we must be ready for one just in case. Our 2016 Resource Plan identified that should we lose access to Aishihik during the winter months, we may not be able to produce enough electricity to meet demand at peak times. Having access to these four portable diesel generators should we need them ensures that we can continue to provide reliable service this winter even in an emergency. This is a short-term measure. We are working with our parent, the Yukon Development Corporation, and the Yukon government to find more permanent solutions to address the capacity gap. However, as you know, energy projects take time, and we wanted to have a temporary solution in place until new capacity can be added to our system.
Dec 19, 2017  Comment

Holiday Hours

Please note that we will be closed at noon this Friday for the holidays. We will be back to regular hours December 27–29, and again starting January 2. Merry Christmas everyone. 
General, News
Apr 13, 2018  Comment

Enjoying the Sun

Two foxes sun themselves this week outside of one of our Whitehorse hydro plants. 

Jan 17, 2019  1

Should Utilities Offer Energy Conservation Programs?

You may have read an editorial in yesterday’s Yukon News that talked about a recent ruling by our regulator, the Yukon Utilities Board (YUB), in connection with our 2017/18 General Rate Application. The Board has told us that it believes governments, and not utilities, should carry out energy conservation and efficiency programs, otherwise known as Demand Side Management (DSM). We continue to believe that DSM is a cost-effective means to address Yukon’s future energy and capacity needs. In addition, in the survey that we completed as part of the 2016 Resource Plan we heard clearly from Yukoners that they support us pursuing energy conservation/efficiency programs. The 2017/18 proceeding is not yet complete. We are preparing a response to the YUB which we will submit by the end of next month. We are exploring options to continue with a more focused DSM program that may address the utility board’s concerns. However, at this time we do not know how the YUB will respond and what the final decision will be.
News, Energy Supply, Regulatory, Reliability
Dec 04, 2018  Comment

Responding to Concerns About the Aishihik Relicensing

You may have heard news stories about concerns by the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN) about the process to relicense the Aishihik hydro facility. We feel we owe it to Yukoners to explain the situation from our point of view. Aishihik hydro is a key power plant in Yukon’s renewable energy system. Twenty-five percent of the hydro produced by Yukon Energy comes from the Aishihik plant. In winter, as much as fifty percent of our renewable energy comes from Aishihik. The Aishihik facility reduces our reliance on diesel and LNG, which decreases GHG emissions and fuel costs. About 2½ years ago, CAFN and Yukon Energy entered into a protocol agreement to cooperatively plan for the relicensing of the Aishihik power plant. The license expires at the end of next year. Working together, we established: a steering committee (one member each from CAFN and Yukon Energy) to oversee the work and provide high level guidance; an advisory committee of CAFN, Yukon Energy, various government departments and non-governmental organizations; it made recommendations on interests, values, and technical matters; and a Champagne and Aishihik Community Advisory Committee that met frequently to provide information to the project and engage with CAFN Citizens. We also provided funding to CAFN for a traditional knowledge project that included archival and oral history research, as well as map biographies and oral history interviews. CAFN and Yukon Energy jointly selected a consulting team to conduct a comprehensive series of field studies, research, and analysis over several years regarding the environment and people in the Aishihik area. This information was considered alongside other monitoring and research information that has been collected in the project area over the last 40 years.  CAFN Citizens participated directly in most of the field studies and research. Yukon Energy has contributed more than $600,000 to CAFN over the last 2.5 years on this project. We have worked with CAFN in good faith in an attempt to agree on a proposal that balances energy needs with preserving the long-term health and well-being of the land, water, and people. We listened to their concerns, and this has shaped what we plan to include in a project proposal to YESAB. For instance, we have agreed on monitoring and adaptive management to reduce winter flooding and erosion downstream from the Aishihik plant. Another change that both parties agreed to is to remove aesthetic flows at Otter Falls, something that is not expected to have any adverse effects on fish. We have been working together on monitoring of fish and wildlife at Aishihik Lake. What we have not been able to agree on is the operating range of the lake. Yukon Energy and CAFN held a workshop in early September where we had agreed we would discuss a variety of options for the operating range of Aishihik Lake. However at that workshop it became very clear to us that, for CAFN, the only viable option was to return the lake to levels seen before the dam was built. We feel we cannot do that for a number of reasons. First of all, the science shows that the lake and the fish in the lake are healthy. There are no key drivers that we can point to in the scientific research that convince us we should significantly change the lake operation. Also, if we did not have Aishihik and its water storage, we estimate that a new replacement generating plant would cost more than $100 million. In addition, if we returned the lake to levels before the dam was built, Yukon Energy would need to burn more than $10 million per year in LNG and diesel in the short term, in order to make up for the lost energy. This would emit an additional 33 kilotons of GHGs annually relative to our current emissions. Note that, currently, our entire operation only creates 5 kilotons of GHGs each year. We must take the interests of all our ratepayers and Yukoners into consideration in making this decision. Since our water use license expires at the end of next year, and since we can’t operate our Aishihik plant without a new license, time is of the essence. We are already cutting it very close in terms of being able to get through both the YESAA and the Yukon Water Board processes. For all these reasons, we have decided we must move forward on our own with a YESAA proposal late this year or early next. We want to continue working with CAFN, but we simply can’t agree to returning the lake to natural levels.
Nov 22, 2018  2

Open Houses: Aishihik Relicensing

The Water Use License for Yukon Energy’s Aishihik hydro facility is coming up for renewal. Yukon Energy is preparing to submit a project proposal for the relicensing to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board (YESAB). Come learn about the work done to date, next steps, and how you can be involved in the process. Open houses: Dec. 4th ~ 4–6 p.m., with a short presentation at 5 p.m. Whitehorse – Canada Games Centre, 2nd Floor Concourse Dec. 7th ~ noon–2 p.m., with a short presentation at 12:30 p.m. Haines Junction – St. Elias Convention Centre Light refreshments will be served.
News
Nov 21, 2018  1

Help Guide Yukon’s Energy Future

Yukon Energy is looking to fill two director positions on our Board. Preferably applicants will have the following skills: an understanding of financial statements and generally accepted accounting principles; experience in review and analysis of financial statements/reports; understanding of the financial audit cycle; familiarity with concepts and application of enterprise risk management; knowledge of regulatory accounting; and experience with chair duties. Please send completed application forms, resumes and cover letters by Dec. 31, 2018 to janet.patterson@yec.yk.ca.  Information about Yukon Energy’s Board of Directors can be found here. 
Nov 01, 2018  Comment

Ensuring Reliability of Power

Over the next few weeks, people in Whitehorse will notice six portable diesel units being set up at our generating station in the city. These temporary units will act as our insurance policy so that we can continue to provide reliable service throughout the cold months.  The information sheet below provides details about our need for LNG and diesel fuel as part of our energy mix.
Oct 29, 2018  Comment

Reporting Back on this Summer’s Energy Symposium

You may remember that this past June, the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) held a major energy symposium in Carcross, Yukon. It was the first time in the 127-year history of the CEA that such a meeting was held in the North. We invite you to read the full report that resulted from this historic gathering. The document can be found below.
News, Energy Supply, Power Outage Updates, Reliability
Oct 01, 2018  Comment

Outage in Whitehorse

Power is out in Riverdale and parts of downtown Whitehorse. We are working with ATCO Electric Yukon to restore as soon as possible. The cause is under investigation.
News, Energy Conservation, Energy Supply, Environment, Reliability
Sep 10, 2018  1

The Next Phase of Our LED Streetlight Project

We are replacing all our existing streetlights with energy efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights. Two years ago we changed the streetlights in Mayo and most of Dawson City. Over the next several weeks we will install LED streetlights in the rest of our service areas, including Faro, Champagne, Braeburn, Mendenhall and rural Dawson. In selecting the lights, we have worked to ensure public safgety while mitigating light pollution. We have received very positive feedback so far about the quality of the light from the new LEDs. Why make the switch? LEDs provide lower power bills for the rural communities we serve LEDs are a better choice for the environment LEDs work well in the cold LEDs use about half the electricity that traditional streetlights do, and they last longer (25 years as opposed to four years) What will be the savings? The people paying the streetlight bill (municipalities, First Nation governments, Yukon government) will see their power bills go down by about $35 a year per light. For example, Faro has approximately 170 lights so that would be a savings for the town of almost $6,000 per year. Yukon Energy will also benefit by seeing energy savings during cold, dark winter nights when our system peaks are highest and we are running thermal generation. Residential customers can see savings by switching to LED lights in their homes. Our electricity conservation and efficiency program inCharge offers $7 rebates on each package of ENERGY STAR® LED lights. 
News, Community Involvement, Safety
Aug 17, 2018  Comment

Early Warning Measures

If you're in Mayo this coming Thursday, August 23rd, you may hear a sound similar to an air raid siren. Don't be alarmed. We have installed an early warning system outside of our Mayo office and will be testing it for a couple of hours starting at 11 a.m. on Thursday morning. This equipment will serve two purposes – to provide an early warning in the event of a dam breach, and to notify you of a fire in the community. A continuous tone will warn of a flood as a result of a dam breach; an intermittent tone will indicate a fire. Both the Village of Mayo and the First Nation of Na-cho Nyak Dun requested an early warning system such as this. We’d like to thank them for working with us on this initiative.
News
Aug 09, 2018  Comment

the power of yukon

By now a number of you may have noticed that we have a new logo and tagline. Yukon Energy has had very much the same look, including the logo, since the Corporation was established in 1987. We are not the same company we were in the late 1980s, and we felt it was important to reflect who we are today. The logo and tagline flow out of earlier work we did to update our Mission, Values, and Vision. Our new logo helps communicate what matters most to us: sustainable energy for a prosperous Yukon. The dynamic shape represents how we generate most of the renewable electricity in the territory; It resembles the cursive letter "e" for energy; The multiple lines symbolize flowing water; water as a symbol of natural power; rivers that connect our communities; The interlocking lines symbolize working together, connecting people, transforming clean resource into electricity; The flow begins in blue, is transformed into green, and returns to blue, symbolizing a return to a natural state, commitment to sustainable energy, continuity. The literal meaning of our signature "the power of yukon" is that Yukon Energy is the major source of electricity generation for the territory, and that we derive our product by tapping into Yukon resources, both natural and human. However the tagline also suggests that Yukon Energy embodies what is possible in this territory, working with Yukoners. Throughout this project we have worked very hard to keep costs to a minimum. The Yukon government's French Language Services Directorate helped with the cost of our bilingual and French material, and some of the collaterals (signage, stationary, etc.) needed to be replaced anyway, regardless of whether we had re-branded. As a result, the incremental costs in 2018 for the rebranding project were kept to approximately $30,000.  Ultimately, the work we have done is a re-commitment to all Yukoners ... to enable the territory's prosperity with sustainable, cost-effective and reliable electricity.
News, Energy Supply, Reliability
Apr 27, 2018  1

Our 2018 Brushing Season

Yukon Energy maintains hundreds of kilometres of transmission lines located throughout the territory. Keeping our right-of-ways clear is crucial to ensure public safety and reliability of our system. This year, we plan to clear the following areas: Sections between Whitehorse and Aishihik Sections between Carmacks and Stewart Crossing Little Fox, South Fox, Little Salmon, and McGundy Work is scheduled to start next week. Please see the document below for further information about our brushing practices.

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