I rise in this Honourable House today to share with
Members and the public-at-large, what can only be described as a
historic day for the Province and the people of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
You have heard our government say on many occasions
that we are striving to take control of our own destiny. We have put
action plans in place and we have exercised wise and strategic financial
management to position us for future economic growth.
We have taken equity stakes in our offshore projects;
we have invested in strategic areas of growth; and we have risen above
the detrimental actions of the Federal Government and stood strong in
the face of adversity.
We have also made it very clear, that we will control
the development of one of our most valuable renewable energy resources,
the Lower Churchill project.
Our government�s Energy Plan set in place a plan to
develop this resource with a view to 2041 when we finally take full
control of the Upper Churchill project.
In the meantime, we have been working to secure
maximum benefits strategically and financially from our recall power
from the Upper Churchill project.
Since 1998, we have had a power purchase agreement
with Hydro Quebec for a block of recall power from the Upper Churchill.
This renewal expired on March 31, 2009.
Essentially, this agreement gives Hydro the right to
recall 300 MW at the same price as Hydro Quebec�s current pricing under
the 1969 Churchill Falls power contract.
Nalcor Energy in conjunction with government decided
to not renew this agreement.
Instead yesterday, on April 1, we as a province for
the first time in our history sold hydro electric power from the mighty
Upper Churchill River in Labrador directly through Quebec and this hydro
electric power was then sold into markets in the United States.
Simply put we, as a province, began wheeling our power
through Quebec unfettered to North American markets for the first time
in history. This is precisely the obstacle that was not overcome in the
original Upper Churchill agreement, resulting in that unfair and
lopsided deal.
Today, we have overcome that obstacle. We have proven
that no challenge is too big or too daunting for our people to take on.
In fact, this new arrangement means that we can now
sell our own power which may access the United States and Canadian
markets.
At the present time, we are working with Emera Energy
to have our power get to these markets. We have concluded a sale
agreement with them so that with their considerable expertise in the
industry our power will be sold into these markets. Our goal is to
eventually develop the expertise at Nalcor so that we can act as seller
into final markets.
A maximum of 250 megawatts of power can be transmitted
in the summer time through lines out of Labrador, through Quebec and
into the northeastern US and can potentially go into other Canadian
provinces.
I want to also assure the people of Labrador that the
priority of Nalcor and this government is to ensure local and domestic
needs for power are met with recall power. As with past recall
arrangements only energy surplus to the province�s own needs would be
exported outside of the province.
We understand from Emera that power from Labrador
today is being sold directly into the United States; destination � New
York. Newfoundland and Labrador is taking a bite out of the big apple.
Nalcor secured this transmission access through Quebec
to the Canada-United States border under Hydro Quebec�s Open Access
Transmission Tariff.
This represents a tremendous accomplishment and bodes
extremely well for the Lower Churchill development as we move forward.
It also opens doors in terms of our future ability to
sell wind power and other potential energy into a hungry North American
market place.
This is truly a historic and momentous occasion for
the people of our province, as never before have we been granted access
through the Province of Quebec with our own power.
This power sales arrangement puts us squarely in the
game as a hydroelectricity producer and seller, with our clean,
hydroelectric generation being sold from Newfoundland and Labrador and
finding its way into the North American market place. Just as we have
taken equity stakes in our offshore resources, we see tremendous
potential for long term value in entering this business arrangement and
will continue to assess future potential.
This is about our province finally acting in a
strategic manner and going through proper processes to wheel our power
through our neighbouring province of Quebec.
What we are talking about today is our future and the
future of generations who will follow us. Today�s announcement is one
more step on that road. Our view is long term and we will not be swayed
by short term thinking.
I ask all honourable members to join with me in
celebrating this outstanding and significant day in the history of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
2009 04 02 1:55 p.m.
