After almost a year of negotiations, an agreement has been reached that should keep power rates in Newfoundland and Labrador from skyrocketing.
To achieve that, Ottawa agreed to renegotiate financing for the project that has been plagued by delays and cost overruns.
Some of the revenue that would have been made at Muskrat Falls down the road, in the mid-2040s, will be used now to offset the deficit.
.@PremierofNL Dwight Ball says the province has reached a deal with Ottawa to renegotiate the financing of Muskrat Falls. What he calls a fixing a “$30-billion problem.” #nlpoli @VOCMNEWS @590VOCM @VOCMBen pic.twitter.com/YhGtoCVEJs
— Fred Hutton (@Fred_Hutton) February 10, 2020
The numbers are huge, and without the new deal the project would have faced an annual shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars.
There is also still work to do to deal with a $4.8-billion gap. Details on that will be announced at a later date as negotiations are ongoing.
What it means is that electricity rates will remain at 13.5 cents k/h, but it doesn’t mean rates won’t go up in the future.
The PUB sets those rates and could be subject to inflationary and other regular increases.@VOCMNEWS #nlpoli
— Ben Murphy (@VOCMBen) February 10, 2020
What it means is that electricity rates will remain at 13.5 cents k/h, but it doesn’t mean rates won’t go up in the future. The PUB sets those rates and could be subject to inflationary and other regular increases.
The original cost of Muskrat Falls came in at just under $6-billion. That number has more than doubled to almost $13-billion.
Opposition Reacts
Meanwhile, PC Leader Ches Crosbie didn’t hold back on his feelings about the announcement, or what he calls a lack thereof.
Ches Crosbie says all he heard talked about was an agreement that in the future there would be an agreement.
He says he heard government say they agreed to negotiate and in his mind it’s a non-announcement.
Crosbie says it’s like they used to hear Mike Critch say on VOCM, “details are scanty.”
Group Rallies in Solidarity with Wet’suwet’en
Today’s announcement was met by a large group of Labrador Land Protectors and supporters who rallied in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en protests in BC.
Holding placards reading “RCMP off Wet’suwet’en Territory” and “Land Back Now!” dozens of people greeted Premier Dwight Ball he arrived for today’s announcement.
The @PremierofNL has arrived for the rate mitigation announcement. #nlpoli @VOCMNEWS @VOCMBen @590VOCM pic.twitter.com/cdVDK0OOZh
— Fred Hutton (@Fred_Hutton) February 10, 2020
The protesters were seeking to speak with federal Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan.
Land Protectors say they can’t eat money—referencing the $30-million offered to Labrador’s three Indigenous groups that had been earmarked for methylmercury mitigation.
They say they shouldn’t have to fight every single day. But they will.
Land Protectors say they can’t eat money and that they shouldn’t have to fight every single day. But they will. pic.twitter.com/cZN46GkPga
— Brian Madore (@bmadorevocm) February 10, 2020
