The opposition parties were briefed on the details of the deal reached on Churchill Falls and the Liberals say most concerning to them is the loss of an escalator on the sale of Gull Island power.
Liberal Leader John Hogan says the previous government “fought hard” to secure an escalating price on Gull Island power to ensure the value increased over time.
He says under the agreement, the price Quebec pays Newfoundland and Labrador for Gull Island power does not increase in time, and Hogan claims, the price is structured to drop over the life of the agreement.
(VOCM News)
He says it’s “hard to believe” that the province would agree to another 50-year agreement without an escalating price.
Hogan also points to NL’s ability to wheel power through Quebec to U.S. markets. He claims what’s actually been secured is “synthetic transmission.” As per the agreement, says Hogan, NL Hydro may elect to sell to Hydro Quebec what he says is a “small portion of power based on US prices, minus transmission charges.”
He says that provides market-based pricing for a limited amount of electricity sold to Quebec, – less than 10 per cent of the total power Quebec will receive, in place of market-based pricing the 2024 MOU had for all Churchill Falls power.
NDP Concerned over ‘Lack of Transparency’ on MOU
Provincial NDP Leader Jim Dinn speaks with media about the new Churchill Falls deal (VOCM News).
Meanwhile, the NDP is citing a “lack of transparency” from the PC government on the renewed Churchill Falls MOU, with “no independent oversight” on the details of the agreement.
Dinn says government refused to give opposition members a briefing on the deal prior to the announcement and they weren’t given any resources or key documents to back up what was announced.
He says they had to learn from the Quebec media about what government was doing ahead of time, which is “unacceptable.”
Dinn claims he found the new agreement by checking Hydro Quebec’s website.
He accuses the PCs of seeing transparency as a “buzzword” and not a practice.
