Hay River power proposals due Friday; NTPC, Northland expected to bid

Proposals to distribute power in the town ofHay River are due today at noon, withNorthland Utilities and the Northwest Territories Power Corporation bothexpected to make bids.

Hay River's mayor,AndrewCassidy, sayslowering the rate of power for residents of the South Slave community is apriority. Town council and its legal team will review the proposals after Friday's deadline.

"We plan on doing it fairly quickly, within the next few weeks," saysCassidy."We don't plan on wasting any time, and as soon as we get the proposals in and the competition closes, we'll begin the evaluation process, and we'll get through it as quickly as we can."

The Town of Hay River announced in December that it would not renew its franchise agreement with Northland Utilities, which has distributed electricity in the community since 1951. Northland's contract runs out in November of 2016, and arequest for proposals was issued by the Town inMay.

Representatives from Northland Utilities have expressed concerns that they will be bidding against theNorthwest Territories Power Corporation, a government corporation which Northland buys power from.

In May, Northlandran full-page ads in newspapers across the North, arguing against what it believes is a looming attempt by the government to expropriate the company.