DWIGHT BALL MOVES ON. GODSPEED. GODDAMN.

When political leaders step aside, expectations of them, however fanciful, are withdrawn; civility requires us to wish all, including Dwight Ball, godspeed. But while some leaders are quickly given the peace they seek, others warrant the lament popularized in the now famous lyric by Ron Hynes: “Godspeed. Goddamn.”

It wasn’t as if this Premier rose to the status of First Minister on a wave of expectation. He didn’t defeat a leviathan in Paul Davis. The public just needed to rid themselves of a godawful government in a province where good governance is a rarity. The new broom had represented at least the possibility of hope.  

FINDING AN ENDURING FIX FOR MUSKRAT FALLS

Guest Post by David Vardy
Two major events signal the rising tension among the people of this province, fearful of their future. Since 2016 we have had 11 quarters in which the population has declined continuously, from 530,000 to 522,000. This is a measure of the angst over our serious fiscal plight and the prospects of dramatically higher power rates.  

The two events were the release of the final PUB report on rate mitigation and the second was the press conference by the Premier and Natural Resources Canada Minister Seamus O’Regan on negotiations toward rate mitigation. Both events focused on the return on shareholder equity. The PUB recommended that the province forgive payment of dividends on provincial equity. The joint press conference latched onto that option as a cure for Muskrat Falls, namely the writing off of dividends and financial restructuring.

RATE MITIGATION: PUB OFFERS NO MAGIC SOLUTIONS

On Friday the PUB sent its final Report on the Rate Mitigation Reference to the Ball Administration which it promptly released to the public. It would be nice to report that the PUB has contrived a magical solution to this enormous challenge, but there is no such good news. The Report, itself, is a bit of a disappointment though not because it contains no magic or that it offers limited solutions. It simply misses an opportunity to give certainty and clarity to the precise dimensions of the mitigation problem, fails to give Nalcor its proper berth, and fails to offer the Ball Government – and the public – advice on a realistic and permanent solution to the worst possible consequence of Danny Williams' legacy project. Obviously, I can be blamed for an excess of expectation.

ELECTRIFICATION: GOOD BUSINESS OR POLITICAL SLEIGHT-OF-HAND?

Guest Post by PlanetNL
PlanetNL28: Electrification – Is it Good Business or Political Sleight-of-Hand?

This blog has detailed time and again how electricity costs are set to roughly double once the Muskrat Falls project goes into operation and the potential social harms that will inevitably occur.  Rate mitigation tactics are promised by thePremier and his Administration but they are bound to be as delayed and poorly delivered as is the Muskrat Falls project itself.  This post examines the Government’s pursuit of converting oil-fired buildings to electric heating.  Growth of electricity is supposed to provide relief to existing ratepayers while getting off oil and lowering emissions is an added bonus – who could argue?  Those who look at the big picture, that’s who.

What Should Follow Snowmageddon 2020

Quick question, fellow snow shovellers: if the Feds have on their priority list a tunnel across the Labrador Strait, why not a dome over the City of St. John’s? OK, I get it. Funnies aren’t welcome when you’re tired and you have spent possibly several days without power. Many people face the loss of a week’s pay too, which worsens the financial circumstances of a good many. That said, 80 cm of snow is no laughing matter.

It is a testament to the character of people that they have endured, having used Snowmageddon 2020 as an opportunity to express the best of who they are, make new friendships, and share their neighbourliness and their all-round civility, too. Then, too, we acknowledge those who had to carry on in hospitals and other institutions and on snow ploughs, maintaining essential services and working to get the City back on its feet.

“OUT OF THE LOOP” STURGE: ENTITLEMENTS REVEALED

When Derrick Sturge, the “not in the loop” Nalcor Chief Financial Officer, went off with a compensation package of approximately $900,000 last November, CEO Stan Marshall stated in a release that he was legally entitled to a compensation package of approximately $900,000. Now the Uncle Gnarley Blog has obtained details of the “package”; we can say candidly that Stan likely worked harder bending paper clips for Fortis Inc. than he he did hold Sturge to account. 

JOHN C. CROSBIE, R.I.P.

One of Newfoundland and Labrador's most able politicians, John C. Crosbie, passed away today. He has already been missed from the political stage for a few years; now we justifiably mourn his passing. This Blog wrote two Posts on the man whose biography was perfectly titled "No Holds Barred". One, called "Where Have You been John C. Crosbie?", welcomed his putting Danny Williams in his place in 2014 for meddling in the P.C. Leadership Campaign of that year. Another, a 2013 post called "Crosbie Can't Be Serious" contained a facetious chastising for what respectfully of the octogenarian, I had deemed must really have been a 'tongue in cheek' condemnation of Muskrat; it being completely out of character for him to give a nod to such a crazy idea. 

Both pieces, however, speak to the contributions he has made to the Province, his sharp wit and sharper mind, and especially his ability to speak his mind and not be fettered by political correctness. I still regard both pieces a tribute to the man and the place he carved out out in the hearts and minds of many people and surely in the annals of Newfoundland and Labrador history. Here is Where Have You Been John C. Crosbie?

MUSKRAT'S "DOOZY" OF A PROBLEM

Guest Post by James L. Gordon

What else can go wrong – this one is a doozy!

There are 3 synchronous condensers (SD) at the Soldiers Pond substation on the Avalon         

Peninsula, the down-power end of the DC transmission line.

TOP TEN POSTS OF 2019 AND OTHER SNIDE REMARKS

It is time to list the top ten posts of 2019 and to thank those who contributed to the work. But, first, a quick word about the year that was. Most notably, the province's fiscal position continued to slide, lacking as it does essential political leadership to deal with the problem. The Ball Government remains stuck in a prescient mindset, one preoccupied solely with the Liberal Party's re-election.  

The annual cash deficit of the Government remains at the $2 billion level. The Governing Liberals and the Opposition Parties — PC and NDP — have the same agenda: keep the public placated, maintain the illusion that there is no crisis, and otherwise keep public expectations of them low. 

As to other sectors of Newfoundland and Labrador society, including business and unions, short-term self-interest prevails. For all of them, serendipity (translated as “offshore oil”) will provide a “fix” for gross mismanagement in a Province boasting the second largest per capita revenues of any Canadian Province. 

HOW THE BARD SEES TWENTY TWENTY

TWENTY TWENTY

Our eyesight norm sees twenty-twenty,

Of resources, we have plenty-plenty,

Yet myopic Pols in spendthrift form

Now view the till on empty-empty:

Link power a software-fatigue tale,

Bad vibrations! Ferries fail to sail,

FooteBall games. The Recycle waste!

Rare Physicians, Deferred oil revenue? - Leaders flail.