Power has been restored to all customers in Igloolik following a community-wide outage that led to school and road closures. The Qulliq Energy Corporation confirmed that electricity service was back on for all residents by 6:13 p.m. local time.
The utility provider thanked the community for their patience while crews worked to resolve the disruption. The incident occurred as the town continues to navigate infrastructure challenges related to its aging power plant, which was originally built in 1974.
To address the territory’s aging equipment, the Government of Nunavut is moving forward with a major modernization program. A $35.7 million contract has been awarded to Pilitak Enterprises Ltd. to build a new power plant in Igloolik. The project is supported by the Arctic Energy Fund, which covers 75 per cent of eligible costs, while the remaining 25 per cent is funded by utility customers.
Qulliq Energy Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Ernest Douglas has noted that more than 10 power plants across the territory have reached the end of their useful life. The corporation is actively working to upgrade these facilities to improve reliability for the approximately 14,400 customers served across 25 isolated communities in Nunavut.
Construction work for the new local plant has previously required planned partial outages in the community to safely facilitate upgrades near the high school and the road to the airport.
