Yukon Energy has applied to the Yukon Utilities Board for an increase in electrical rates that would see monthly bills rise by an additional $15.12 over two years.

The boost is in addition to the 7.5 per cent increase ATCO Electric Yukon applied for last year.

The utilities board is in the final stages of ruling on ATCO’s application which went to a public hearing last fall.

Last summer, it did approve an interim rate increase of 4.4 per cent to be added to the bill on July 1, 2016.

Yukon Energy has applied for an increase of 9.08 per cent over two years, of which 7.38 per cent is to be applied to 2017 and 1.58 per cent in 2018.

The Crown corporation is asking the board to approve an interim increase of 9.04 per cent, which amounts to $12.29 per month, to be applied to the monthly bill beginning Sept. 1.

The board normally approves interim rate increases to avoid Yukon Energy or ATCO having to go back to collect the full amount once it has a final ruling.

Yukon Energy CEO Ed Mollard explained late this morning that if the board approves its rate request and approves ATCO’s rate request, the monthly bill next April for the average home using 1,000 kilowatt hours would be $165.04. That’s before the GST and the government’s maximum monthly subsidy of $26.62 are factored in.

In April 2016, for comparison, the monthly bill for the average home before the GST and the subsidy was $149.15.

The Crown corporation points out in information released Thursday, it has not had a rate increase since 2013. It contends rising costs and inflation make it now necessary to file for a boost.

“Over the last four years, Yukon Energy has worked hard to avoid the need for any rate changes,” Yukon Energy President Andrew Hall said in a press release yesterday.

“However, we are facing increased costs to modernize our aging infrastructure and to ensure reliable energy during winter peaks. We are also seeing inflation in some of our operating expenses.

“Delaying an increase would just compound the problem and mean even higher rate hikes down the road.”

Information provided by Yukon Energy indicates the cost of electricity in the Yukon for the average household use of 1,000 kilowatts hours a month rose from $139.57 in 2012 to $149.45 in 2016, before the government’s monthly subsidy.

The additional $10 a month over the four years amounted to a seven per increase, according to Yukon Energy’s information package.

By comparison, the cost of electricity in Yellowknife rose by 24 per cent over the same period, for a monthly bill of $315.18 as of April 2016.

In addition to the rate increase, Yukon Energy has asked the board to approve its updated 20-year capital resource plan in which it identifies how it expects to meet increasing demand in low, medium and high growth scenarios.

Included in the resource plan is a proposal to install a third natural gas generator at the new LNG plant in 2019, install a battery storage system in 2020 and increase water storage capacity in the Southern Lakes in 2020.

The rate application also asks the board to allow Yukon Energy to add the cost of the new LNG plant to the rate base.

The plant cost $41.9 million, though the Yukon government contributed $18.3 million through the publicly owned Yukon Development Corp., leaving $23.6 million to be added to the rate base.

In its application, the publicly owned utility is proposing the utilities board hold public hearings into the application in early December.