NALCOR GONE IN NAME ONLY

Guest Post by PlanetNL

PlanetNL40: Nalcor Gone in Name Only

Misrepresentation of Fact Still A Problem

After the Commission of Inquiry into the Muskrat Falls Project, ratepayers and the public at large might have reasonably hoped and expected that the Utility would change its stripes and try straightforward honest truth for a change.  Apparently, it is a tough ask. 

The recent changes to restructure the Executive ranks and the elimination of the Nalcor side of the business brought a glimmer of hope for real change.  The signals are already there, however, that not much will change in how the utility interacts with the public regarding Muskrat Falls and anything connected to it.  Which just happens to be almost everything they do. 

NEW NL HYDRO CHIEF SHOULD START OVER

Denial and deception came easily to the politicians and bureaucrats who had the audacity to sanction Muskrat.  Jennifer Williams, the new NL Hydro President, should decide now if she will take a different path than that taken by the recent Hydro Executives who helped enable the project.

Hydro management remained quiet as Hydro’s Board of Directors imposed a 50-year “take or pay” contract on the province’s ratepayers — for the full capital cost of Muskrat Falls. This contract flies in the face of Hydro’s obligations to protect their customers and to supply power on an effective and efficient basis. The Board shares in the blame for the creation of an economic condition that threatens our economy and the affordability of basic heat and light.