Inuvik Natural Gas Rate Hike Sparks Community Complaints

The town of Inuvik in the Northwest Territories has filed a complaint against its natural gas provider, Inuvik Gas, regarding a proposed rate hike. The increase would be 28% for residents and 44% for the municipality.

Town officials urged residents to file complaints, which led to about half a dozen written submissions to the Public Utilities Board (PUB). This includes one from rental giant Northview and the town's formal complaint itself.

Inuvik Gas claims the rate hike is necessary due to increased costs of providing safe and reliable energy service. The company also points to newly expanded propane storage, which will cost almost $2 million a year to maintain.

The town argues that the 2012 rates were unsustainable and that there's not enough transparency about gas sources and costs. They urge the PUB to launch an in-depth review of the rate hike.