Premier John Hogan is responding to comments from a former member of the Churchill Falls Review Panel alleging that the review panel is not meeting the expectations or the needs of the public.
Mike Wilson tendered his resignation from the independent oversight panel earlier this year.
He left the panel on May 12th because he felt that its independence “became impaired” and he “no longer believed the panel’s reports would meet the expectations and needs of the public. ”
The full letter can be found here.
Premier John Hogan says negotiations are still underway working toward a final deal.
Hogan says he won’t put his “head in the sand” and assume that everything is perfect. “We’re still negotiating this deal. This is a Memorandum of Understanding…(and they are) working towards definitive agreements. So there are still negotiations that have to take place, and that are taking place before we get a final deal.”
Mike Williams questioned the justification for selling existing Churchill Falls power to Hydro Quebec at a price at least 50 per cent lower than the current replacement cost.
Jennifer Williams, CEO of NL Hydro (VOCM).
NL Hydro CEO Jennifer Williams told VOCM Open Line with Paddy Daly that she’s aware of comments from former Hydro Quebec CEO Michael Sabia, indicating that the corporation is getting hydro power from Labrador at rates far lower than their next-best option.
She says Quebec is coming to them, and is giving up free power for the next 17 years, “and we are agreeing..that we have to have a fair price using a mechanism that is still be negotiated. There is an inference that the final formula is done, but it is literally in active negotiations, so that is right now being negotiated with us.”
She says a portion of the price is tied to export markets, and a portion is tied to replacement value, “so we are indeed going to get these indicators included in our price. The price is not fixed.”
