The UARB has
stated, in uncommonly plain language, that the Maritime Link is not, now, the
lowest cost option for Nova Scotia. It
says that 15 cents per KWh for the Nova Scotia Block is too high and
demands that all of the ‘surplus’ energy from Muskrat Falls be made available. Altogether, the two blocks constitutes 60% of the power from Muskrat Falls. It says, only by levelling the price, with
cheap (5-9 cents KWh) “market-priced” power, can it achieve the desired blended rate of 10 cents, allowing
the ML, over time, to become the lowest cost option.
Exhibiting
Quebec style opportunism, NS could care less that Newfoundland rate-payers will
pay in excess of 20 cents per KWH. They
are not concerned that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will assume all of the
construction risk, including 80% of cost overruns on the Maritime Link (ML). But,
NS sees an opportunity to benefit and who can blame them. They are doing what ‘states’ do: they act in
their self-interest. If Premier Dunderdale had consulted Brian Peckford on Nova
Scotia’s antics, during the Atlantic Accord saga, she and her Ministers might
not have so quickly earned the mantle, ‘babes in the wood’.
