New board members could help reinvent Northwest Territories energy corporation, experts say

A shake-up on the board of directors of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) may be just what is needed to modernize the territory’s energy policy and attract more talent, according to some observers.

The territory government will soon call on new members to replace the current Crown corporation board, which is made up entirely of deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers from the territory government.

The minister in charge of NTPC, Caroline Wawzonek, told the Legislative Assembly on Friday that the government is recruiting four to eight new members to replace current directors and also plans to retain at least two government officials on the board.

North Yellowknife MLA Shauna Morgan hopes the new administration will bring about some needed changes. According to her, the deputy ministers currently on the council are not experts in energy policy or its implementation.

“Obviously they all have much larger jobs and many other things that they worry about running their departments. So the problem is that if the council includes deputy ministers, it will simply be a kind of means of maintaining the status quo.” “, she said.

“The problem is that the status quo is sending us into a downward spiral.”

NTPC recently applied for a rate increase of 18 percent. throughout the area, citing factors including inflation, low water levels and a $97 million project to overhaul the Taltson hydroelectric dam as reasons for the increase.

Morgan said she wants to see policies that encourage the use of renewable energy rather than current policies that discourage it by limiting production.

“Instead of resisting these changes, the utility corporation should become part of them and incorporate them into their business model,” she said.

‘This will make a huge difference’: Management expert

Richard LeBlanc, a professor of public law and ethics at York University, said the new NTPC board may represent the shift Morgan is calling for.

The board of directors approves the organization’s strategic plan, and LeBlanc says a fresh perspective, especially an independent one, can better represent the public and bring about change.

“It will make a huge difference,” he said.

LeBlanc says having independent directors on the board could help bring some industry experience, while government officials on the board would bring insight into how government works.

“The hybrid model combines the best of both worlds,” he said.

David Brown, a professional consultant on corporate governance and board effectiveness, disagrees.

He says any government official on a board of directors will be in a potential conflict of interest, or at least a perceived conflict of interest.

“Is this board member acting in the best interests of the government because that is their day job and who pays them? Or are they acting in the interests of the corporation because corporate law requires them to do so?” – said Brown.

Brown said there are better ways to ensure good government-corporate relations. For example, he said, the board chair could act as a liaison, or the government could enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to outline expectations and accountability.

Previously, NTPC had an independent board of directors. The situation changed in 2016 when Louis Sebert, the then minister in charge of the NTPC, announced that he would replace these members with deputy ministers.

At the time, Sebert said that would amount to $1 million in savings on travel and fees, although in 2023, then-minister Diane Archey said the actual savings were between $415,000 and $500,000 per year.

Wawzonek, the current minister in charge of NTPC, said on Friday that the government is in the process of determining who it expects as board members. This includes ensuring representation of the territory’s various regions and maintaining expertise in energy policy.

Wawzonek said she expects the government to announce interest in early 2025.