Premier Andrew Furey says the province’s participation in the Atlantic Loop hinges on the all-important re-finance of Muskrat Falls with Ottawa.

He says without that, residents of this province would also be subjected to a doubling of electricity rates when power from the project comes on stream later this year.

Furey says it’s not the public’s fault that Muskrat Falls went off the rails, so they shouldn’t have to shoulder the resulting burden. He says it’s critical that a deal get done on Muskrat Falls before commissioning occurs in the fall.

Furey says it also fits with the federal government’s green energy policy. He notes it’s a built, green asset, adding Ottawa has invested in pipelines, so why not the green hydroelectric dam that he says can be the battery for the Atlantic region.

Meanwhile, Cabinet minister Seamus O’Regan states the magnitude of the Atlantic Loop project, noting that conversations are ongoing regarding how it will work and how it will factor into any Muskrat plans.

There will be five governments controlling the Atlantic Loop: The provinces and utilities will be in charge of it and own it, provincial system operators will control it, utilities and contractors will build it, and the federal government will pay for it.

O’Regan explains that the loop as a system of transmission and generation projects will link together the electricity systems of the Atlantic provinces and Quebec to phase out the use of coal in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.