As your humble e-scribbler told you before Christmas, the provincial government plans to build the Muskrat Falls project based solely on what the captive market in Newfoundland and Labrador will be forced to pay.
In response to a question in the House of Assembly, Premier Kathy Dunderdale admitted people outside the province will get Muskrat Falls power subsidized by ratepayers in this province:
Mr. Speaker, the cheapest energy that can be provided to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador is 14.3 cents a kilowatt hour. That is as cheap as we – we cannot bring it in from Nova Scotia cheaper, we cannot bring it in from Quebec cheaper, we cannot build it any cheaper in Newfoundland and Labrador; 14.3 cents still gives Nalcor a 9 per cent internal rate of return, so we are still making money.
Mr. Speaker, Nova Scotia needs power. They need power and they can provide it to themselves for 10 cents or 11 cents a kilowatt hour. They are not going to buy it from us, Mr. Speaker, for 14.3, so we have to go into the market and sell at what the market can bear.
- srbp -