Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I have questions this morning for the Minister of the power Corporation, NTPC.
So we know we've experienced power outages, some lately, and these can be costly to households and businesses when it causes damage to equipment, appliances. So my first question to the Minister is are there any circumstances where NTPC or Naka Power would be liable to reimburse households or businesses for the cost of any damages to their equipment or appliances? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for NTPC.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, any payments on behalf of any utility, and in the case of Yellowknife it would be Naka most likely but they too would be subject to fairly standard terms and conditions, standard insofar as they're utilized across Canada. And in those circumstances, it would really be only, you know, if there was something rising to the point of negligence and not an outage that is unfortunately a run of course type of outage. But short of that, Mr. Speaker, there's not a provision under which the utilities pay customers back for surge damage that they may experience. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So is the Minister aware of how this practice would compare to standard practices from other utilities or governments in other parts of Canada in terms of funds or opportunities for people to be reimbursed for damages due to power outages? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so, again, you know, I am cautious that I don't want to speak for Naka but certainly the NTPC and Naka's terms and conditions are, you know, I think fairly well known if not publicly posted on their websites, and they are, indeed, consistent with utilities across Canada. In speaking to the CEO of NTPC, I know there are quite a number of avenues where the utilities maintain contact with one another. And, lastly, Mr. Speaker, I would note that the public utilities board, for us, also provides oversight over all of those terms and conditions to maintain that consistency. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister responsible for NTPC. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So does NTPC provide any fact sheets or information to residents to help them understand what -- or businesses, to help them understand what they can be doing to prevent damage to equipment or appliances such as various types of surge protection devices? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate that question. The customer service branch does send out various bill -- the little stuffers that can go out now and again when folks receive their power bills. At least, speaking on behalf of NTPC. I would expect that Naka likely does that as well. But I also expect that both utilities put a fair bit of information out on their websites, on their social media pages, and I will happily ask them to do that again now, particularly in the winter months when we are experiencing -- or at risk of experiencing more outages. Folks can look to what to do in a power outage and they'd find information, I know, on NTPC's website. I think BC Hydro has some good information. And I know I've looked, I think, at Hydro Quebec as well in the past for some of this type of information and would encourage people to have a look and to heed the advice. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister responsible for NTPC. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
