Canada’s North is where innovation meets necessity
How NTPC is confronting northern energy challenges for a better, stronger future
By Cory Strang, August 22, 2025
What if the North's greatest energy challenges became its greatest opportunities? What if our vast landscapes, resilient communities, and unique conditions positioned us to pioneer energy solutions that serve the North better while showing other remote regions what's possible?
Our hardworking operations teams aren't just maintaining systems – they're proving every day that northern realities require northern solutions.
This isn't wishful thinking – it's the future we're building at NTPC. While other utilities manage predictable systems with standardized approaches, we're developing energy solutions for one of the most challenging and dynamic service territories on Earth.
The recent outages across North and South Slave communities, along with the extended Taltson maintenance requirements, illustrate exactly why we need to think differently.
When your service territory spans 1.2 million square kilometres with communities connected by winter roads and flight schedules, when equipment must function in -40 C temperatures, we need to think beyond traditional approaches routinely deployed by businesses and utilities across Canada.
But here's what those challenges also reveal: the dedication of our crews working around the clock in extreme conditions, the resilience of northern communities, and the urgent need for innovative approaches that will define our energy future. Our hardworking technicians, engineers, and operations teams aren't just maintaining systems – they're proving every day that northern realities require northern solutions.
Designing for northern realities
Traditional utility models assume extensive regional grids with large generation, easy road access, and readily available equipment from multiple suppliers. They assume moderate climates and infrastructure that connects seamlessly to larger networks. These assumptions collapse in the North.
We're not adapting southern solutions for northern conditions. We're developing uniquely northern innovations.
Consider what "service innovation" means when backup generators must start reliably in the harshest winter conditions, with replacement parts requiring charter flights instead of next-day delivery, and when a single equipment failure affects communities hundreds of kilometres apart. These aren't edge cases – they're fundamental design parameters demanding different approaches.
We're not adapting southern solutions for northern conditions. We're developing uniquely northern innovations. Our high-penetration renewable projects integrate solar arrays with battery storage specifically configured for northern conditions, extreme weather patterns, and seasonal energy variations. Projects like those in Inuvik are testing approaches that will inform how we tackle energy resilience across all remote communities.
Community-focused innovation
In the North, energy solutions must be as much about community partnership as technical capability. Unlike utilities that impose standardized approaches across similar markets, we work with distinct communities across the territory, each with unique energy profiles, cultural considerations, and economic opportunities.
This complexity is our competitive advantage. Our partnerships with Indigenous governments aren't just consultation – they're co-creating energy futures that strengthen communities while advancing technical innovation. When we work with communities to reduce diesel reliance, we're building local capacity, creating training pathways, and ensuring energy transitions strengthen rather than disrupt community life.
The new territorial energy policy framework that was released in April 2025 provides the roadmap for how communities can participate in this transformation through expanded net metering and independent power producer programs. This structured approach ensures everyone is treated fairly while maintaining system reliability. We look forward to working with the NWT Public Utilities Board to implement these new policy directions.
Infrastructure as nation-building
This is what "Powering the North" really means – a vision for infrastructure serving national interests. The Taltson expansion will transform the energy landscape across the North. This project will add 60 megawatts of clean generation capacity – a transformational increase for the North – while connecting electricity grids north and south of Great Slave Lake for the first time.
The question isn't whether this expansion will happen, but how it positions Canada for Arctic leadership.
As a cornerstone of Canada's emerging Arctic Security Corridor, expanded Taltson capacity could anchor critical minerals development, support defence infrastructure, and strengthen Canada's Arctic sovereignty while providing clean energy for northern communities. Projects like Taltson represent the kind of strategic infrastructure that nation-building initiatives are meant for.
Beyond the conventional grid
While southern utilities manage stable, interconnected systems, we're designing for transformation. Our service territory will never look like a conventional southern grid, and that's precisely why it can become something better.
We're examining technologies – variable speed generators, smart battery systems, community-scale renewables – and developing operational approaches that treat community engagement as core infrastructure, not stakeholder management. The territorial integrated resource planning process will provide the roadmap for how these innovations can be deployed systematically across our communities.
Powering transformation
Yes, we face infrastructure challenges. Equipment ages, systems require maintenance, and northern conditions test every component. But these challenges are driving innovations that position the North as a leader in energy transformation rather than a follower adapting southern solutions.
These challenges are driving innovations that position the North as a leader in energy transformation rather than a follower adapting southern solutions.
Every project we undertake – from community solar installations to major hydro refurbishments – is designed with northern conditions and community priorities as primary considerations. Our dedicated teams aren't just keeping the lights on – they're building the foundation for an energy future that serves northern communities better.
We're not waiting for someone else to develop northern solutions. We're building them ourselves, one innovative project and one community partnership at a time.
Join us on the journey. Explore this Powering the North website, subscribe to receive updates and follow us on socials.
Cory Strang is Chief Executive Officer of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.