Algonquins of Barriere Lake try to keep lights on as federal funding dries up

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One Algonquin First Nation roughly 270 kilometres north of Ottawa is searching for a way to keep its lights on, with the community’s chief in a power struggle with Hydro-Québec and one federal department on what the long-term solution should be.

The Algonquins of Barriere Lake, located within the Outaouais section of Parc La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve, isn't hooked up to the province's power grid.

For more than 40 years, the community of about 450 people has relied on diesel generators for electricity. 

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) has always covered the costs of operating, maintaining and fuelling those generators, but it plans to stop providing that funding.

“The fuel costs between $2.2 million, between $2.4 million a year,” said Casey Ratt, Chief of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake. “They know we can’t go on our own.”

But according to ISC, the department can’t keep up financially either. The generators were only ever meant to be an interim solution, it says, and they've become unreliable and expensive to operate over the years.

“Unfortunately, the generators currently supplying power to the Algonquin community of Barriere Lake have exceeded their useful life,” wrote ISC spokesperson Pascal Laplante.

According to ISC, the decision to pull the funding to keep those generators running has already been postponed twice.

Laplante would not confirm exactly when the money would be cut, saying the department wants to respect the nature of ongoing discussions with the First Nation.

Laplante also said ISC has been working with Barriere Lake for several years to try and find a way forward. Some conversations about potential solutions have also included other federal departments, the Quebec government and Hydro-Québec. 

The Algonquins of Barriere Lake First Nation is set to lose the federal funding that has kept its diesel generators up and running since the 1970s, though it's not clear when that funding will evaporate. (Delphine Jung/Radio-Canada)Biomass power plant rejected

Both ISC and Hydro-Québec have proposed new energy sources to replace the generators.

But Ratt has a different idea: a biomass power plant. It’s a renewable energy source that would convert burned organic material, like wood, into heat and electricity.

ISC said it supported the community’s proposal, but it was ultimately rejected by Hydro-Québec.

“We carefully analyzed their project, but unfortunately, it was not selected for various reasons, which were explained to them,” the Crown corporation wrote in a statement. (Hydro-Québec declined an interview.)

One of the reasons ISC pointed to was the absence of a long-term revenue stream for the project. In Ratt’s view, that’s the only obstacle keeping the project from being realized.

“We needed a power purchasing agreement from Hydro-Québec,” he said, explaining the contract would allow the First Nation to install and operate the plant then sell the energy produced there to the provincial body.

“[They’re] saying that they’re not making any money out of it because we would be selling the excess electricity.”

Hydro-Québec says it 'carefully analyzed' the biomass power plant proposal, but rejected it for 'various reasons.' The power utility declined an interview. (Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada)

Instead, Hydro-Québec said it has suggested ways to connect the community to its network, an option Ratt is against. 

The chief is concerned joining the provincial grid would pose environmental risks to his territory, harming fish and eroding soil when water levels are regulated at Hydro-Québec’s Cabonga Reservoir, upon which the community resides.

ISC suggested a transitional solution could be implemented, while the parties continue collaborating on a longer-term one.

That would see the department fund the purchase of three new generators, as well as cover the costs of their diesel fuel and maintenance for up to five years. That proposal was also rejected by the community.

Community, government bodies at odds

Ratt surmises that the options presented so far are aimed at forcing the community into a circumstance where connecting to Hydro-Québec is the only solution.

He pointed to how the Atikamekw of Opitciwan — another First Nation off the central grid —moved ahead with a biomass project after reaching a power purchase agreement last year with a private manufacturer.

"If it's good enough for [this] First Nation community, why is it not good enough for the Algonquins of Barriere Lake?" he asked.

ISC said it remains "committed to working closely with the community to explore options and sustainable solutions for the future, taking into account technical, financial, and safety considerations."