NUKISSIORFIIT

 

Nukissiorfiit is a company which is part of the administration and funded by a net appropriation and owned by the Government of Greenland. Nukissiorfiit produces and distributes electricity, water, and heating.

 

Read more about Nukissiorfiit at www.nukissiorfiit.gl.

 

Electricity and Heating Supply in Towns

Until 1993 when the hydroelectric power plant in the Buksefjord was inaugurated, the supply of electricity was based on a diesel power station or on a power plant and distribution network in each town. Because of the large distances between towns, there has so far not been an economic or technical basis for a transmission net between towns.

 

Production costs are relatively high because many of the plants are quite small and because each town has established emergency power generators. Due to the climatic conditions, consumers can not endure long interruptions of electricity.

 

New public buildings in Nuuk are provided with electric heat from the hydroelectric power station in the Buksefjord.

 

The consumption of electricity exclusive of electric heating is shown in Figure x. The consumption of heating including electric heating is shown in Figure 1. The consumption is shown for towns and settlements.

 

Figure 1

Consumption of Electricity

Source: Nukissiorfiit

 

Figure 2

Consumption of Heating

Source: Nukissiorfiit

 

Supply in Settlements

The reliability of supplies is lower in the settlements than in the towns because there are generally no emergency power generators. In the settlements, the power plants generally have three generators to ensure supplies. Should a generator crash, the other two are to continue to maintain the supply of electricity.

 

In areas for which Nukissiorfiit has no service obligation such as settlements and isolated sheep farms, residents use private mobile generators.

 

Settlements have no real public supply of heating. In a few settlements, individual public buildings, usually the service centre of the settlement, receive residual heat from the cooling water used for the diesel generators at the power station but most settlement houses are heated by oil stoves or heaters.

 

Water Supply

The water supply in towns is based mainly on water from lakes and rivers. The water is led through the distribution system to the waterworks where it is purified and treated before being passed on to the consumers.

 

In Qaanaaq, the supply of water is suspended during the winter period; water is obtained by melting ice instead.

 

The water is distributed to consumers through pipes or by tankers in areas where houses are equipped with water tanks.

 

A total of 51 settlements have water supplies all year. The water is only rarely available directly in the houses but can be fetched at public taps.

 

Nine settlements have water plants using the principle of reverse osmosis. Read more at www.mst.dk

 

In settlements without water supplies, water hoses are used in the summer. Residents in those settlements are dependent on manual supply from sources, rivers, and lakes as well as on the melting of ice and snow in the winter.