It's time Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams got over the Churchill Falls deal. The 65-year contract with Quebec was a big mistake for Newfoundland, no doubt. But that was decades ago.
For Williams to describe last month's deal between Hydro-Québec and New Brunswick Power as a "dangerous situation" is nonsense.
The deal is a boon for the environment and a bargain for New Brunswickers, who will get rid of a $4.8-billion debt that threatened to hang over them for generations to come. And thanks to promised rate freezes, New Brunswickers will save another $5 billion.
The deal also means Hydro-Québec will freeze residential electricity rates in N.B. for five years - a better deal than anyone has promised Quebecers - and after that prices would rise by only the rate of inflation. Major industrial users in New Brunswick would see their rates drop to the same prices paid by Quebec's big industrial power users.
All of this is made possible by the fact that cheaper-to-produce hydroelectricity will be replacing power from New Brunswick's oil-burning plants. Ninety-seven per cent of Hydro-Québec's generating capacity comes from hydro power.
Hydro-Québec head Thierry Vandal drove home the point that governments will soon require that energy be cleaner. Speaking to Dow Jones Newswire, he said, "We're moving into a world where power generation is going to be carbon-constrained ... everybody recognizes that power has to be cleaner."
Quebec is uniquely well placed to meet this demand for cleaner energy. Every year, our utility sells nearly $2 billion worth of power to the U.S. Those sales could double within two years, thanks to the transmission corridor Hydro-Québec will get as part of the New Brunswick deal, and further increases are expected as Hydro-Québec builds new dams.
Williams is upset because the New Brunswick deal could in theory block his scheme to get additional Churchill River power through the Maritimes to the U.S. market. Choler seems to be Williams's natural state, but it's time he realizes that Hydro-Québec has bigger objectives than just getting him red in the face. His province, like Quebec, has potential to produce much more lucrative and clean power. Hydro-Quebec is a world leader in the field. Isn't it time to swallow your grievances and try co-operation, Premier?