Weekly Intelligence Brief
Premier Dexter and Premier Williams seek clarifications
16 December 2009
Premier Darrell Dexter and Premier Danny Williams of Newfoundland and Labrador, have jointly sent a letter to Premier Shawn Graham of New Brunswick.
The letter addresses concerns about the Memorandum of Understanding between New Brunswick and Quebec and asks for a response regarding open access for transmission of electricity.
Through this letter, the New Brunswick government has been asked to:
· Finalise an agreement, by February 2010, prior to signing of the definitive agreements between New Brunswick and Hydro Quebec, subject to normal environmental assessment and permitting, to construct a new interprovincial transmission line through New Brunswick to the Maine/NB border, separate from the existing NB grid; and
· Ensure that existing open access applications will be handled by NB System Operator (NBSO) under existing New Brunswick’s open access transmission tariff (OATT) rules until the process is complete and service agreements have been offered to Nalcor Energy or any other Atlantic Canadian companies that may seek such access before the signing of the definitive agreements between New Brunswick and Hydro Quebec next Spring.
The governments are seeking an outline of the process and mechanisms that New Brunswick will employ to guarantee this access. The letter stated: How will New Brunswick assure other energy producers in New Brunswick and in the other Atlantic provinces that they will have the same level of open and non discriminatory access to the NB transmission system (i.e., to existing surplus capacity or existing capacity with appropriate system upgrades), and to new energy corridors?
“Reviewing the MOU, we are concerned with the provisions that eliminate a truly independent system operator, require conformity to the Quebec regulatory system, create difficulty in changing these laws in the future, and narrow the scope of the energy hub from the region to the province,” stated the letter. It further added that these provisions may enable Hydro Quebec to hinder transmission development, whether it is expansion of the existing system or the development of a new corridor if it is not seen to be in Hydro Quebec’s own interests.
