A local financial advisor says the impact of the new Churchill Falls agreement could be larger than what the province has seen so far from the oil industry.

Larry Short of Short Financial, a branch of iA Private Wealth, says overall it’s a better deal for the province of Quebec than the one in 2024 because demand and the price of power in the United States is greater today than it was then.

He cautions however, that with the uncertainty surrounding global oil supply, “I think the oil companies are going to be heading back here anyway….because of the long-term impact of the Strait of Hormuz, but up to this point in time, with what we’ve seen so far, (Churchill Falls) should have a larger impact than all the oil developments so far in the province.”

Short says greater understanding is still needed on many of the finer points, including the provisions surrounding NL’s ability to sell excess power to the U.S. market.

“When you review the contract, it is really, really intense. Things like, this is the wording; ‘a net pricing equivalent to the CHPE contract, such an arrangement will not be on a back-to-back basis with the CHPE, but rather with an equivalent pricing arrangement without considering any applicable’….you see what I mean? The level of detail that has to be looked at here, it is quite exceptional. It takes a while to digest this.”