From Nalcor vice president Derrick Sturge:
"Whether all of the energy ever flows to the New England market - who knows? A significant portion of that (40 per cent) may never hit New England. It may end up in Prince Edward Island or New Brunswick. But the key is that there is the option to flow to the (New England) market."
And then he said the thing is going up with or without a federal loan guarantee.
Newfoundlanders should keep an eye on their wallets with this guy Sturge and his buddies around.
They have no markets for the power outside the province.
That’s why Sturge uses all the conditional language like “may”. It may go there; then again, it may not.
Count on the “not’ given that the front end of the story makes it plain that Nalcor and Emera couldn’t actually settle on a price. Muskrat Falls power was just too expensive.
So in exchange for Emera partnering on a line to Nova Scotia they’ll get free power for 35 years.
Talk about the price is right.
Free is always the right price, except if you are Nalcor customers in this province. For you guys, Nalcor will be jacking up Newfoundland electricity rates and adding another five billion or so to the public debt.
And for what?
Well, since Nalcor’s own figures show there is no demand on the island that couldn’t be met other ways besides Muskrat, the answer to that question remains as much a mystery as why Kathy Dunderdale threw Shawn Skinner under a political bus last week with the Matthews’ debacle.
- srbp -