A recently announced energy deal between Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec is facing criticism from energy observers who are calling for an independent review.
Energy observers in Newfoundland and Labrador are urging the provincial government to take a sober second look at a massive tentative deal announced last week with Quebec that promises to deliver hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue to the Atlantic province. The agreement in principle should be reviewed independently to determine whether it is fair for Newfoundland and Labrador, and whether it offers the best return for the province, Ron Penney said in an interview Tuesday.
A former civil servant, Penney led a group of concerned citizens who opposed the disastrous Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project, for which the province is still deeply in debt. 'The process has been really rushed,' Penney said, referring to the recently announced deal between the two provinces.'I want to have the public utilities board get into this, right at the at the early stages.' 'Let's face it, this is a project for Quebec,' he added. Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador have been at loggerheads over energy since 1969, when the provinces signed a deal allowing Hydro-Québec to reap the lion's share of profits from power produced at the Churchill Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador. Last Thursday, after more than a year of negotiations, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey literally tore up a copy of that contract during a press conference in St. John's and announced the new deal with Premier François Legault. If the agreement is ratified by both provinces, Quebec's utility would start paying more for Churchill Falls energy, and pay Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro $3.5 billion for the rights to co-develop two new projects on the Churchill River, officials said. There are positive aspects to the deal, Penney said. Quebec would manage the new builds — one, an extension to the existing plant and the other, a new plant at Gull Island, further down the river — and absorb any potential cost overrun
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