Iglulik has exhausted its supply of diesel fuel to heat residences so it’s prepared to distribute Jet A fuel to fill home heating tanks as fall temperatures begin to dip below freezing.
The community is awaiting a sealift vessel that’s currently in Sanirajak – about 70 km to the south – to bring a resupply of diesel.
BaShildy/Wikimedia Commons photo
Mayor Merlyn Recinos said he’s been told that Qulliq Energy Corporation still has a supply of fuel, so electricity should be maintained.
As for the approximately 1,700 residents, there’s no need for panic because “Jet-A fuel is a perfect substitute for home heating fuel,” said Duane Wilson, vice-president of stakeholder relations with Arctic Co-operatives.
The Co-op holds the contract as the community’s fuel distributor.
“In this case, there will be minimal impact, if any at all,” Wilson said. “Due to the sharp reduction in scheduled air services into the community, there is ample supply of Jet A to ensure that there is no additional costs, risks of freeze-up, shortages or other negative impacts on the community.”
On Monday evening, Recinos said he planned to be on the phone with the Government of Nunavut’s Petroleum Products Division (PPD) on Tuesday morning to get an explanation as to how Iglulik’s diesel reserves were able to be depleted.
“To be honest with you, I’m quite disappointed that this happened because PPD should know. We plan things and understand this is the latest we have gotten a (sealift) fuel delivery in Iglulik,” said Recinos. “Ensuring that we have things in place to cover our community and our residents, that’s my first priority. Now I need to find out what happened to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”
The Government of Nunavut couldn’t provide any answers to Nunavut News’ questions as of early Tuesday morning.
The overnight low in Iglulik on Monday was around -5 C. With the ground beginning to freeze, Recinos added that having diesel to run heavy equipment is also important. Putting gravel on local roads to keep them from becoming slippery is critical, he said.
Mayor Recinos sounds like he is making a mountain out of a snow bank.
There is minimal issues with burning Jet A Fuel in heavy equipment or home heating fuel. There has been a large drop in scheduled flights throughout Nunavut and no pleasure flights by summer enthusiasts who usually frequent Nunavut and the North.
Jet A Fuel burns a little hotter than Diesel but it is a safe alternative. Your heavy equipment will still keep your roads safe, all good.
Yes the Mayor is making a mountain out of a mole hill. What do you think happens if the diesel truck goes down in a remote community? They switch to Jet. It’s a form of redundancy in the North. Albeit Jet A-1 has higher sulphur content and would not meet some environmental requirements for burning as automotive fuel.
That said, however, there are ultra low sulphur Jet fuels that meets the ASTM and CGSB requirements for use as Jet A or winter grade diesel. Perhaps the NG uses this… either way, it’s a non-issue. No regulator is going to be critical of burning Jet A for the short term to maintain supply.
PPD dept tends to be pretty lax, dont see any useful info coming from there anyways. I dont even see how that is a full time GN job
Don’t need no ppd or any fuel here should all be green in 5 years anyways
Josh #2 That isn’t possible in my opinion. But, wages on make-work full time jobs could be better spent.
Josh 1 and 2, both of your comments are silly IMHO. The technology won’t exist to eliminate fossil fuels in 20 years, let alone 5, especially in our extreme climate. And, obviously, it takes people to run a petroleum business throughout an entire territory.
Joshs’, are you smoking some of that stuff that was just legalized?
From delivery and acceptance to training Driver, Swampers, Contractors and invoicing to name a few as well as ensuring QEC has enough fuel to keep your lights and heat on throughout the year, PPD is a little more than a full time job.
lol
Haha, you must be the employee no one can get a hold of ;p