Qulliq Energy

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Quilliq lighting, Nunavut, 1999
Quilliq lighting, Nunavut, 1999

Contents

Qulliq Energy Corporation is a Canadian Crown corporation owned by the Government of Nunavut, established in 2001 as "Nunavut Power Corporation", and renamed "Qulliq Energy Corporation" (QEC) in 2002. It draws its name from the kudlik (qulliq), a liquid candle lamp and stove fuelled by animal blubber, with a moss or Arctic cotton wick, contained within a crescent-shaped carved stone and used by generations of Inuit for light and heat.[1]

It was established by the Nunavut Power Utilities Act, now the Qulliq Energy Corporation Act. Previously, power was supplied to Nunavut by the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC), a Northwest Territories company, from 1988 to 2001, and its predecessor, the Northern Canada Power Commission, a Canadian crown corporation, from 1958-1988.

Two public documents contain useful historical information:

  • "Ikuma I, 2001 Report (Nunavut’s Energy Options for 2001)” discusses the benefits and anticipated problems of an independent electricity provider in Nunavut, including:
    • options: continue with NTPC, change to an independent corporation, change to a government department
    • assessment criteria for each option: risk, complexity, cost, suitability
    • policy issues associated with each option: outsourcing, subsidies, regulation
  • "Ikuma II, 2002 Report (Meeting Nunavut’s Energy Needs – Structures and Strategies for Energy Self-Reliance)” addresses the re-birth of the electricity provider as a more general energy company and provides six recommendations:
    • establish QEC and delineate its responsibilities
    • appoint an Energy Advisor and delineate the position’s responsibilities
    • establish fuel and power pricing approaches
    • create an “Affordable Energy Fund”
    • determine implementation processes to include a plan and a team
    • develop a “Nunavut Energy Strategy” to include business partners and long-term planning

Since the establishment of QEC, periodic discussions continue regarding the possibility of combining Nunavut's fuel delivery and electricity functions under the new QEC project.

[edit] Electricity generation

Main article: Nunavut Power

Nunavut Power is the tradename used by the electricity generating subsidiary established in 2003 under parent corporation, QEC.

[edit] Energy conservation

Nunavut Energy Centre was established in 2006 as a division of QEC focused on energy conservation through public outreach.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Kudlik - a Multi-Purpose Lamp. athropolis.ca. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.

[edit] External links