utsl K' diesel power plant to be replaced in $11.3M project

The community of utsl K', N.W.T., has plans to build a new diesel power plant to replace the existing one, currently located near the centre of town.

A request for proposals "has been issued to find a company that will lead [the] project," said Doug Prendergast, a spokesperson for the N.W.T. Power Corporation.

He said work on the new power plant is expected to begin early next year.

The $11.3-million project will receive funding from the federal government through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

This will subsidize the cost of about 75 per cent of the project, which "will help keep the impact on rates low," said Prendergast. The remaining 25 per centwill be funded by the N.W.T. Power Corporation.

Prendergast said plans for the project would build the replacement further out of town, near a fuel tank farm owned by the territorial government.

The new power plant will have a capacity of 820 kilowatts, said Prendergast, and will be more efficient energy-wise which, he said, "will result in lower greenhouse gas emissions."