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Jul 16, 2012  Comment

The Latest on Our Biomass Work

There's some good news on the biomass front. We are working with four local governments, agencies and corporations to look into the possibility of a biomass project for Haines Junction. The Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, the Dakwakada Development Corporation, Cold Climate Innovation of the Yukon Research Centre, and the Village of Haines Junction are collaborating with us to investigate the potential for a two to three megawatt biomass plant in the community. If approved, the plant would provide some much-needed renewable electricity for the territory. It also has the potential to produce district heat and create economic opportunities for local businesses and corporations. The preliminary research done to date shows this is a potentially economically viable project. As a group we are now hiring a consulting company to conduct a more detailed engineering and design study. The results are expected by early next year. While this study will primarily focus on electricity production from the plant, the group hopes to find additional money to investigate the use of the facility’s waste heat. The bulk of the funding for the $850,000 engineering and design study is expected to come from Natural Resources Canada, with the remainder coming from the five Yukon organizations. Once the study results are known, we will decide as a group how best to move forward. The biomass project would undergo community, environmental and regulatory review before moving to the construction phase.
Energy Supply
Jul 18, 2012  1

Is Geothermal Right for You?

Have you ever wondered about using geothermal technology to heat your home or business? If so, now’s your chance to ask questions and learn more about the technology. Paul Regnier of the company Advanced Geothermal Systems Inc. will give a presentation in Whitehorse on direct exchange geothermal heat pumps, district heating potential, and more. Come and learn about these energy efficient heating systems and their residential and commercial applications. The information session runs from noon to 1 p.m. next Tuesday (July 24th). It’s taking place in Conference Room 5 at the Westmark Whitehorse Hotel. There’ll be a free lunch provided. For information please contact Jessica Thiessen at 867-393-3898 or jessica.thiessen@yec.yk.ca. This event is being sponsored by Yukon Energy.  
Community Involvement, Energy Conservation
Jul 20, 2012  Comment

More ‘Conservation Kids’ Sessions

As we told you in a previous post, Yukon Energy Corporation and the Yukon Conservation Society are partnering with Environment Yukon’s Conservation Action Team to offer a children’s electricity awareness program to communities in the territory. The Conservation Kids Ed-Ventures Program teaches children about the safe and wise use of electricity through games, hands-on science and crafts. The program is free and is open to kids of all ages. Earlier this summer the program ran in Watson Lake, Ross River and Faro. The next offerings are taking place in the following communities: Whitehorse - July 23: the program will be a part of the city's summer camps at the Canada Games Centre. Note that these sessions are limited to participants of the city's Wild Things, Cracker Jacks, and Spitfires camps. Haines Junction - July 28 at 1 p.m. at the Old Community Hall. Open to all children.
Energy Supply
Jul 20, 2012  Comment

Full Supply on Marsh Lake

For those folks with properties on the Southern Lakes, today the water is exactly at Full Supply Level. It's at this level that, AFTER AUGUST 15, our water licence allows us to start closing some of our control gates to slow the flow of water out of the lakes into the Yukon River. The reason we do that is so we have enough water to produce power in the winter time, when demand for electricity is at its peak. You may want to mark a point on your property today so that you have a comparison for other times of the year. If you add 30 centimetres (about 12 inches) to that mark, you will have a sense of what the levels would be like under the enhanced water storage scenario that we are studying.  
Energy Supply, Environment
Jul 24, 2012  Comment

Our Latest Summer Forecast for Marsh Lake

While property owners and residents in the Southern Lakes continue to watch the water rise around their homes, we too are keeping a close eye on the levels. Our latest forecast for peak levels on Marsh Lake shows a range. The darker dotted line shows the 'worst case' scenario, with levels reaching 40 cm (16 inches) below 2007 peak levels. The lighter dotted line shows the 'best case' scenario, with levels below the 2004 peak. We continue to get questions about why we are keeping water levels so high this year. In fact we have no ability to control the lake levels at this time of year. Here are a few points that we hope will explain how we are allowed to operate. 1. Today's lake level (July 24) is 656.368 metres above sea level. That is about 16 cm higher that our current Full Supply Level in our water licence, which is 656.23 metres. 2. Our water licence says that we must have all our gates open by May 15th each year, and the gates must remain open until at least August 15th. Even then, we can only close them if the water has dropped to below our Full Supply Level (FSL). That means there are some years when we don't actually start to close gates until late September (typically that happens in higher-than-normal water years such as this one). It also means that during the summer, Yukon Energy does not have the ability to control lake levels. The level you see now is the natural level. 3. Marsh Lake goes to our Full Supply Level elevation naturally every year, and often it goes well above this level. 4. Lake levels today appear to be typical of other high water years. High water years occur about 25 percent of the time. We are also asked what will happen with lake levels if we get permission to go to a new Full Supply Level, as we are looking at in the Southern Lakes Enhanced Storage Concept. 1. The new Full Supply Level that we are considering is 656.53 metres, which is 30 cm (1 foot) higher than the current Full Supply Level. 2. The flood level is 656.79, which is the 2004 water level. That is .26 of a metre (26 cm or close to a foot) HIGHER than the proposed Full Supply Level. "Flood level" is a bit of an arbitrary term, but essentially it's a level where people start to experience some flooding issues. 3. In 2007 Marsh Lake peaked at 657.34. That is .81 of a metre (81 cm) above the proposed Full Supply Level and is more than a metre above today's lake level. 4. Marsh Lake reaches 656.53 (the proposed new FSL) naturally one out of every three to four years. In the last 26 years, the lake has reached this level naturally 10 times: in 2009, 2007, 2004, 2000, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1989, and 1986. 5. Today the lake is approximately 13 cm below the proposed new Full Supply Level. We know this can be a complicated subject, so please don't hesitate to send us a note if you have questions or comments.
Community Involvement, Energy Supply
Jul 25, 2012  Comment

Seeking Input on Our Latest 20-Year Resource Plan

After extensive consultation and discussion with governments, stakeholders and the public, Yukon Energy has completed a draft of our latest 20-year resource plan. We are now taking the draft to Yukoners for input. Then the document will be revised based on feedback from the public and will be submitted to the Yukon Utilities Board (YUB). You're invited to read a short summary of the plan, or a more detailed and comprehensive overview. The full document is a very large file and is available upon request. We will be in the following communities to hear your thoughts on this draft: Haines Junction - Aug. 13, 2012 - 7 p.m. - St. Elias Convention Centre Whitehorse - Aug. 14, 2012 - 7 p.m. - Westmark Whitehorse Room 5 Mayo - Aug. 29, 2012 - 7 p.m. - Community Centre Dawson City - Aug. 30, 2012 - 7 p.m. - Klondike Institute of Art & Culture building We also invite comment via email, Canada Post, or telephone. We look forward to working with you on this next phase of energy planning.
Community Involvement
Jul 25, 2012  Comment

Save the Date

The Whitehorse Rapids Fishway will host its annual Visitor Appreciation Night on Wednesday, August 15th between 5:00pm and 9:00pm. There'll be food, kids’ games, great door prizes and a salmon sorting demonstration. Locals and visitors alike are invited to bring your families and friends for a great night. We hope to see you there. The fishway is owned by Yukon Energy and operated by the Yukon Fish and Game Association.
Community Involvement, Environment
Jul 26, 2012  Comment

Cheering on the Salmon

We have, with heavy hearts, been reading and listening to the news that this will likely be a poor year for chinook salmon returns to our Whitehorse Rapids fishladder. Given the situation, we think it will be more important that ever to welcome and celebrate the salmon that do return. We encourage you to learn as much as you can about these amazing creatures, their life cycle, and their journey back up the Yukon River to their natal spawning grounds. This booklet will get you started. As well, we thought we'd run a contest in partnership with the Yukon Fish and Game Association (the group that operates the fishladder for Yukon Energy). You're invited to send us your best guess as to the day and time that the first Chinook will arrive in our fishladder this year. The winner gets a selection of Yukon Energy clothing and accessories worth $100. You can post your guess here, on our Facebook page, or on the Whitehorse Fish Ladder's Facebook page. Good luck!
Safety
Jul 30, 2012  Comment

National Recognition for our Health and Safety Record

We received some great news the other day. Each year the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) recognizes member utilities that have made outstanding achievements in terms of health and safety performances. The Association evaluates the number of incidents requiring medical aid, as well as the amount of time lost due to a work-related injury. Yukon Energy has received top scores in both categories and has therefore been given a 2011 Vice-President’s award for safety performance among small utilities (fewer than 500 employees) in the areas of Generation, Transmission and Distribution. “I’m proud of our accomplishment and am thrilled that Yukon Energy is getting this kind of recognition on the national level,” Manager, Safety & Safety Melanie Pettefer said. “I want to encourage staff to keep up the great safe work practices."
Community Involvement
Aug 06, 2012  Comment

Still in the Running

You may have heard news reports that the first few salmon have arrived at the Whitehorse Rapids Fishladder. While they are pooling at the bottom of the ladder, none has ventured up yet, so you still have a chance to enter our Quick Contest Challenge. Just take a guess as to the day and time that the first salmon will arrive in the ladder and you can win $100 worth of Yukon Energy clothing and accessories.  
Community Involvement, Environment
Aug 07, 2012  Comment

The Latest Water Levels on the Southern Lakes

Throughout the summer we regularly update a chart that shows our predictions for peak levels on the Southern Lakes (Marsh Lake in particular). Here is the latest chart.  You will notice that water levels have remained fairly steady over the last few days. We still think they'll peak somewhere around where the 2004 levels did. Please let us know if you have questions about this.
Community Involvement, Environment
Aug 07, 2012  Comment

The First Salmon of the Season!

We have a winner! The first chinook salmon entered our fishladder today at 3:10 p.m. She's a big female; very healthy looking! You were invited to enter our contest to guess the date and time of the arrival of the first salmon. The people who came closest are Greg and Hester Kitchen. They guessed August 7th at 10:30 a.m. Greg or Hester, please email us at janet.patterson@yec.ca or call us at (867) 393-5333 and we will arrange to get your prize to you. You have won $100 worth of Yukon Energy clothing and accessories. Thanks to everyone who entered the contest. If you can, please come to the fishladder and see the salmon. Or you can view them on our underwater fish camera.
Media Releases
Jul 25, 2012  Comment

Yukon Energy Seeks Input on 20-Year Resource Plan

After extensive consultation and discussion with governments, stakeholders and the public, Yukon Energy has completed a draft of its updated 20-year resource plan. It is now taking the draft to Yukoners for input. Then the document will be revised based on feedback from the public and will be submitted to the Yukon Utilities Board (YUB). “In 2006, the last time Yukon Energy developed a 20-year resource plan, our approach with regard to public consultation was fairly conventional. We shared the plan with the public, but only once it was a finished document that had been filed with the YUB,” Yukon Energy president David Morrison said. “Since that time, we have made a conscious and fundamental change in our approach to planning. We sought input from First Nation and other governments, stakeholders and the public before we had determined any of the content of this latest resource plan,” Morrison added. The input came through meetings, workshops, a three-day energy planning charrette held in March 2011, and follow-up mini-charrettes that focused on specific potential energy options. Among other things, the charrette participants helped Yukon Energy formulate four principles around which to base future energy decisions: reliability, affordability, flexibility and environmental responsibility. “These these four principles became our lens through which we considered all possible energy options for this resource plan draft,” Morrison said. The document outlines both near-term and longer-term energy options. Near-term possibilities include energy conservation/efficiencies, hydro enhancements such as Southern Lakes Enhanced Winter Storage, liquefied natural gas, wood biomass, and wind. Longer-term options outlined in the draft include new hydro, geothermal, solar, liquefied natural gas from local sources, and a grid connection to British Columbia or Alaska. Yukon Energy plans to visit several Yukon communities over the next few weeks to hear people’s views on the draft document. On a go-forward basis Yukon Energy is committed to the idea of ‘planning in public’. The corporation will continue engaging Yukoners on issues related to the territory’s energy future. To learn more you are invited to read a summary of the 20-Year Resource Plan draft and a more comprehensive and detailed overview of the plan. The complete document is available upon request (note that it is a very large file).  Contact: Janet Patterson Supervisor, Communications Yukon Energy Corporation (867) 393-5333 janet.patterson@yec.yk.ca
Community Involvement, Environment
Aug 16, 2012  Comment

Appreciation Night at the Fishladder

It was great to see so many people - and so many salmon - turn out for last night's Visitor Appreciation Night at our Whitehorse Rapids Fishladder. Thank you so much for your support.  Thanks as well to the Yukon Fish and Game Association. The group has been managing the fishladder for us for many years, and we think they do a great job.  Here are just a few images of the evening.

Community Involvement, Energy Supply
Aug 14, 2012  Comment

More Dates for Public Consultation

We now have confirmed more community meetings to share a draft of our latest 20-year resource plan. We have scheduled meetings in early September in Carmacks, Faro, and Watson Lake. Visit our website for all the details. We hope to see you at one of the sessions, but if you can't make it, please contact us and we can speak with you on a one-on-one basis about the draft.

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