In 2001, two years after the 1999 creation of Canada's Nunavut Territory, the Nunavut Power Corporation (a Crown corporation) was established to take over the assets within Nunavut of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.
Prior to 1988, the power facilities across northern Canada were owned and operated by the Northern Canada Power Commission (NCPC) a Canadian Crown corporation. In 2002, Nunavut Power Corporation was renamed Qulliq Energy Corporation (QEC), and the mandate of the corporation expanded to include energy conservation and alternative generation development. The following year, in 2003, "Nunavut Power" became the operating name of QEC's electricity generation subsidiary.
Nunavut Power's main office, human resources and finance functions are located in Baker Lake. It is one of the most successful examples of the still-debated decentralization policy of the Government of Nunavut (GN). Initiated as part of the original design of the Nunavut Territory in foundation doucments such as "Footprints in New Snow", decentralization was designed to spread employment and growth among Nunavut communities.
The geography of Nunavut presents unique challenges to hydro-electric facilities, but the company is actively engaged in site reviews for hydro-electric developments in the 12-20MW range around Iqaluit, the territorial capital. Low population, severe weather and remoteness of transportation and construction technology make long distance high voltage grids unviable. Every community in Nunavut relies on independent diesel generators, fueled by the annual sealift re-supply during the summer shipping season. This dependence on diesel presents its own set of environmental and economic impacts, leaving the territory vulnerable to world energy price fluctuations. This dependency is addressed in the GN mandate document "Pingasuaqtavut".
During the 1970s, there had been suggestions of NCPC employing "slowpoke" nuclear generators to produce power in the many isolated communities. Today, QEC focuses on reliable technologies with a strong emphasis on Inuit employment, as well as trades training, apprenticeships and internships.