Electricity in the Yukon

Yukon

Avg. price: 9.8/kWh for first 1,000 kWh

2010 capacity: 112 MW

2020 forecast capacity: 112 MW

Peak use (2010): 70 MW

Cross-border trade: 0

Green targets: Increase renewable supply to 20 per cent by 2020

The electricity grid in Yukon much like the other two territories is quite unique compared to the rest of Canada, largely because of its small size and relative isolation. The system is made of two separate transmission grids and is not connected to any of its neighbouring territories or provinces. Some communities, including Beaver Creek and Destruction Bay, are completely autonomous and rely solely on their own generating stations.

The province has an installed capacity of just 112 MW nearly three-quarters of which comes from hydro, according to a 2009 report from the publicly owned utility, Yukon Energy. The territory has another 39 MW of backup diesel generators, which it uses to meet peak demand, mostly during the frigid winters.

Yukon Energy has a 20-year resource plan, designed to address generation and transmission requirements between 2006 and 2025. The crown corporation is in the midst of constructing the 138 kV Carmacks-Stewart Transmission line, which will connect its two main hydro grids, Whitehorse-Aishihik-Faro in the south and the Mayo-Dawson in the north. The project is expected to be complete by the spring of 2011 and will allow excess hydro power to be shipped across the territory, reducing dependence on GHG-emitting diesel plants.

As part of its expansion plans, the utility is also looking to increase capacity at two hydroelectric plants, a new 7.5 MW turbine at its Aishihik facility and a new powerhouse for its Mayo site, which will increase output from 5 MW to almost 15 MW.

Yukon Energy also operates two wind turbines located on Haeckel Hill near Whitehorse, which generate 0.8 MW. The territory aims to increase the supply of renewables to 20 per cent by 2020, though a Conference Board of Canada study notes that progress on this front is only in the planning stages.