The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has introduced temporary/short-term support to ease electricity cost increases effective February 1, 2026 to March 31, 2028. The new Cost of Living Subsidy will be applied to electricity bills for residents who live in:

• communities where electricity is more expensive to produce, such as those that rely mainly on diesel or other fuel-based generation, and
• the South Slave communities served by the Taltson hydro system.

Without government support, customers would have faced bill increases of 33 percent or 62 percent, depending on how their electricity is produced. The support will appear automatically on customer bills.

Quote

“This support ensures residents in the communities facing the greatest cost increases receive meaningful relief during a period of adjustment. Our goal is to help households and businesses manage these changes while maintaining a reliable and sustainable electricity system.”

- Caroline Wawzonek, Minister of Finance

Quick facts

• Power rates increased following the Public Utilities Board’s approval of final electricity rates effective February 1, 2026.
• The Cost-of-Living Subsidy is provided in communities where electricity bills would have increased by more than 15% compared to 2023-2024 costs:
  • Fuel-powered, or thermal, communities would have experienced a 33% increase without the subsidy. The subsidy will limit the increase to 8%.
  • Taltson hydro system communities would have experienced a 62% increase without the subsidy. The subsidy will limit the increase to 14%.
• Bills in Snare system communities are only expected to increase by 8%. The subsidy will not apply to customers in these communities because the expected increase falls below the 15% threshold.
• Customers in Naka Hydro communities, other than Yellowknife, were at risk of seeing material increases of their electricity bills. The GNWT will apply support to Naka’s wholesale bill so higher costs are not passed on to residents.

For media requests, please contact:
Beau Stobbs
Senior Communications Officer
Department of Finance
Government of the Northwest Territories
EIA_FINComms@gov.nt.ca