Pay for power in the N.W.T.? Your bill could be going up $8 a month

The Northwest Territories Power Corporation wants to hike power rates in the territory by about $8 per month for the next three years.

It applied to the territory's Public Utilities Board for acollection rideranewfee that would appear on power bills because diesel prices are higher than originally forecast, according to a media release the corporationissued Friday.

The price of diesel is about eight or nine cents more per litre than the cost the corporation used when calculating the current rate, according to the release.

The rider will add about 2.5 per cent about $8 per month to the power bills forthe typical residential customer, the release states.

The money will go into the power corporation's rate stabilization fund. That fund is used to keep electricity prices stable when fuel prices change dramatically.

"Power rates play a significant role in the cost of living in the North," said the corporation's interim president Paul Grant. He said having the additional fee for three years "will reduce the monthly impact on our customers."