Whitehorse Water Use Relicensing Project

Yukon Energy currently has a water use licence to use water from the southern lakes to generate electricity at the Whitehorse Rapids Generating Station (WRGS). We are seeking to renew our water use licence past May 31, 2025. To do this, we will be submitting a proposal to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board to renew our licence.

Why is this water licence important?

• Hydroelectricity is renewable
• Demand for electricity is growing
• While we are building new projects, it is critical we maintain what we have
• The Whitehorse Rapids Generating Station generates 80% of electricity we use in the summer, and 25% of the electricity we use in the winter

What are the operating conditions under the current water use licence?

Though we own the Whitehorse hydro plant, we do not own the Yukon River or the water the dam uses. The water use licence we are seeking outlines the guidelines and regulations that we must follow to protect the water and the Yukon River.

The existing water use licence contains several rules (“conditions”) that we must follow:

• Storage range (water levels)
• Operating restrictions
• Mitigation actions
• Adaptive management and monitoring

Share your feedback

Please submit your comments through the online comment form below. We are collecting feedback until August 31, 2023.