January 16, 1997
(Mines and Energy)

Minister of Mines and Energy meets with U.S. Energy Regulatory Commission

Rex Gibbons, Minister of Mines and Energy, is in Washington today to meet with the commissioners of the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or FERC. The FERC, an independent regulatory agency within the U.S. Department of Energy, regulates the transmission of electricity at the wholesale level.

Minister Gibbons says he has two goals for his trip to Washington. He said: "I hope to gain a greater appreciation of the U.S. regulatory process, specifically the extent to which the recent FERC ruling will enable Newfoundland and Labrador to use existing hydroelectric transmission systems to access North America markets."

The minister says he also wants to provide the U.S. regulatory agency and U.S. business people in the electrical marketing sector with a greater appreciation of the hydro electric potential in Labrador. "The hydro electric potential in Labrador could displace the increased amount of electricity that the United States Department of Energy forecasts New England will require from petroleum-produced sources between 1994 and 2015," says Gibbons. "The development of this Labrador resource for the U.S. market would benefit both economies. It would bring revenue and jobs to our province and, through the displacement of petroleum use, avoid the emission of approximately 12-14 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually into the atmosphere."

Minister Gibbons is meeting with the five commissioners of the FERC on an individual basis. He will also address a meeting of the Canada/American Business Council to outline the potential for Newfoundland and Labrador to supply power from Labrador to customers in the U.S. within the context of the deregulation of electricity transmission in North America.

Minister Gibbons will be available for media interviews when he returns to St.John's on Friday.

Contact: Tara Laing, Assistant Director of Communications, (709) 729-4890.