Inuvik residents urged to reduce energy use amid propane shortage

Inuvik Residents Asked to Conserve Energy Due to Propane Shortage

People in Inuvik, N.W.T., are being asked to lower their home heating and find other ways to cut energy use due to a limited propane supply in the area.

Inuvik Gas Ltd. issued an advisory late Tuesday afternoon, urging residents to conserve energy because of an “unexpected fuel supply reduction and weather conditions limiting road access.”

The company did not provide further details about the local supply but stated that the community must reduce its reliance on propane “for the coming days.”

Inuvik Gas is working with the town of Inuvik, as well as the Yukon and N.W.T. governments, “to open the road and provide safe access to truck in propane and increase our supply.”

Inuvik Mayor Peter Clarkson told CBC News on Tuesday evening that he understood two propane resupply trucks had already arrived in the community.

“Yukon highways people … escorted them through the closed part of the Dempster [Highway]. And then shortly after that the whole Dempster Highway opened up,” Clarkson said.

Fuel is typically transported north to Inuvik through Yukon via the Dempster Highway. The road had been closed on the Yukon side until Tuesday afternoon.

Once the propane arrives in Inuvik, it is converted to natural gas used for heating homes and cooking food.

Inuvik Gas was not immediately available for confirmation Tuesday evening, but the company stated it was preparing a detailed statement.

Clarkson noted that all levels of government in the Yukon and N.W.T. were involved in getting propane to his community, including both territorial premiers.

“At various levels there was communication with the Yukon saying, we need to get this propane up because Inuvik Gas currently has a shortage — and it’s –40, 44 in Inuvik,” he said.

For now, Inuvik Gas is still asking residents to lower their home heating “to a manageable temperature” and use diesel, wood, or electric heating if possible, instead of propane.

Residents are also encouraged to take other steps to reduce energy use, such as avoiding using ovens, taking long hot showers, closing blinds or drapes to retain heat, and working from home if possible “to reduce temperature in office buildings.”