Ed. note: this is an open letter to Premier Darrell Pasloski and Scott Kent, the minister responsible for the Yukon Energy Corp.

The Utilities Consumers' Group (UCG) writes you with great urgency regarding the proliferation of spending by Yukon Energy for its proposed diesel-natural gas conversion project.

This is costing thousands of dollars before this project has been sanctified by its regulators, the Yukon Utilities Board and, to our understanding, the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act process.

The economics of this proposal are very questionable to most stakeholders in the energy community.

That's true regardless of the position taken by the Yukon Energy board of directors to grant authority to all this preliminary speding. It is spending without merit!

The Public Utilities Act, Chapter 186 section 36 states: Interpretation "energy operation certificate” means a certificate issued under this part authorizing the holder of the certificate to operate a regulated project.

Further, "energy project” means a facility for the generation of electricity from the motion of wind or water, or the combustion of natural gas, oil, petroleum project, coal or plant products or geothermal energy

The Act continues with Section 37: No person shall construct a regulated project except in accordance with an energy project certificate.

Section 39: An application for an energy project certificate or energy operation certificate shall be made to the minister and shall contain the prescribed information.

Section 40: On receipt of an application, the minister shall refer the application to the board for a review.

It is very obvious that the diesel-natural gas conversion project meets all these criteria under of the act.

Not only is this an entirely new type of energy source to be utilized, but the estimated preliminary cost of $34.5 million needs to be scrutinized by the public and the Yukon Utilities

Board before the project ever commences.

Need we remind the minister responsible for this corporation about the prior Liberal regime's failure to bring the Mayo-Dawson City transmission line for this direction under the act?

Just read the auditor general's report about the mega cost overruns for this project.

They were complemented by poor construction techniques, poor engineering, poor management, poor financial scrutiny, court-enforced contractor pay-outs and on and on.

Accordingly, the UCG requests the minister responsible for Yukon Energy and the premier of our Yukon be compliant to the Public Utilities Act and immediately require the Yukon Energy Corp. to submit an application for an energy project certificate to be reviewed.

In the meantime, it would be wise to put a moratorium on any further spending for such project.

Roger Rondeau

Utilities Consumers' Group

Whitehorse