The province is promoting Newfoundland and Labrador’s ability – for the first time – to sell power directly to U.S. markets, but the former chair of the Public Utilities Board and a member of the 2041 group, David Vardy, says it’s not that simple.
Newfoundland and Labrador has had to sell power to Quebec and can’t use Hydro Quebec’s transmission lines to sell to third party customers. Vardy says the new deal “doesn’t do anything to improve that situation.”
“It extends an existing arrangement, which we have, to sell power from Muskrat Falls, and some surplus power, recaptured power, from the ’69 contract from Churchill Falls…where we can sell power into the United States. That’s an existing arrangement.”
He says the new deal announced last week doesn’t give the province any additional capacity to be able to sell the energy.
“What it does do,” says Vardy, “is it gives us some access to contracts that Hydro Quebec already has with customers in New York and New England, and we can piggy-back on that and we can supply those markets based upon prices already established by Quebec.”
(via Nalcor)
The Opposition says Newfoundland and Labrador has not secured the ability to transmit power from Churchill Falls and Gull Island through Quebec to the U.S. as government claims.
The Liberals say as per the agreement, NL Hydro may elect to sell to Quebec a limited amount of power based on U.S. prices, with limitations.
The Opposition says there is “zero” ability for NL Hydro to negotiate a price directly with a U.S. market, and then use Quebec transmission to meet that obligation.
They say Newfoundlanders and Labradorians “deserve straight answers” about what the agreement delivers and not “political spin.”
