by JM and EGH The BBC online news magazine carried an article on March 10 that should be of interest to all those following the Muskrat Falls debate. “Do massive dams ever make sense?” summarizes the work of researchers at Oxford University. They studied more than 245 large dams completed
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The Sir Robert Bond Papers: Nalcor running own show on Muskrat Falls #nlpoli
Nalcor Energy is running the Muskrat Falls project without any independent oversight from the provincial government. In two interviews with the Telegram’s James McLeod natural resources minister Derrick Dalley identified Nalcor boss Ed Martin as the government’s chief source of information on the project. According to Dalley, Martin passes information
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Maritime Link delayed almost a year #nlpoli
From the Chronicle Herald: In its letter, the board also points out that parts of the project have been delayed. That includes a 10-month change in the timeline for the transition to start-up and operations. Commissioning of the 180-kilometre cable is slated to be completed by October 2017 rather than
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Chill up spine time #nlpoli
Two separate e-mails plunked the same article in the SRBP inbox on Friday. Both highlighted the same quote from this National Post story on Muskrat Falls financing: “The benefit of the guarantee was that no one had to look at the merits of the underlying project,” says Steve Halliday, managing
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Third Line #nlpoli
Most people in Newfoundland and Labrador never think about the electricity into their homes. They don’t know where it comes from and they certainly don’t have any idea how it gets from the generating plants to their fridges, washing machines, and television sets. People are thinking about those things a
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Crises within crises #nlpoli
The action of the Soviet Union, Winston Churchill once said, “is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” Some people in Newfoundland and Labrador likely felt that way after Day Three of Kathy Dunderdale’s one woman crusade to deny that the province is experiencing a crisis. Most people
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The SRBP 9th Anniversary #nlpoli
It all started on January 3, 2005 and as of today, the Sir Robert Bond Papers is nine years old. As your humble e-scribbler writes this on Thursday evening, the hang at Nalcor have managed the provincial electrical system so ineffectively that on the coldest night of the year so
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Hollowmen of Newfoundland and Labrador #nlpoli
Some of you may have been surprised to find out this weekend that Nalcor has a scheme to import cheap electricity into the province. A couple of Nalcor officials could barely contain their excitement in an interview with the Telegram’s James McLeod. Here’s the idea in a nutshell: Essentially, Nalcor
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Inertia #nlpoli
In a letter last May to his federal counterpart, economic development minister Keith Hutchings described minimum processing requirements as the “only only policy instrument within provincial jurisdiction that ensures fisheries resources adjacent to the province result in processing jobs in Newfoundland and Labrador.” For those who do not know what
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Friday Foursome #nlpoli
1. Nova Scotian customers protected; this province not. (Telegram, December 11, 2013) by Ron Penney and David Vardy The UARB has been empowered to protect the interests of consumers against their public utility, Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Emera. Emera is a publicly traded corporation
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Muskrat Falls costs jump by $1.0 billion #nlpoli
Cost estimates for the Muskrat Falls project have apparently jumped by 16% - $1.0 billion – in the past year. That’s based on information released by the provincial government on Tuesday and the details of the federal loan guarantee. The new price appears to be $7.2 billion. The Decision Gate
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Moments #nlpoli
There’s something perverse about the way politicians these days use a memorial to the dead of two world wars in the last century as a backdrop for their own political spectacles. That’s what Kathy Dunderdale did – yet again – on Tuesday night to tell Newfoundlanders and Labradorians about something
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Feehan dissects Muskrat Falls #nlpoli
According to a new commentary on the Muskrat Falls project by Memorial University economist James Feehan, legislation passed in December 2012 shields Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro from competition, thereby “reducing efficiency and innovation and preventing wholesale access to American consumers” by violating the open market principles on which the American
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: O brother… #nlpoli
There are times when the talk in the province sounds a bit like the soundtrack to a movie, a comedy to be precise. On Monday, finance minister Tom Marshall sounded a bit familiar: “This is a golden age, Mr. Speaker,” Marshall said, “a golden age.” Recall only a few years
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: 20 Answers to the Telly’s 20 Questions (Part 2) #nlpoli
(Continued from Part 1) On October 19, Russell Wangersky wrote a column for The Telegram entitled "20 questions for the premier." Mr. Wangersky posed questions about the development of the Muskrat Falls project. On November 9, Premier Kathy Dunderdale replied. Unfortunately, the Premier did not provide much factual information. In
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: 20 Answers to the Telly’s 20 Questions (Part 1) #nlpoli
On October 19, Russell Wangersky wrote a column for The Telegram entitled "20 questions for the premier." Mr. Wangersky posed questions about the development of the Muskrat Falls project. On November 9, Premier Kathy Dunderdale replied. Unfortunately, the Premier did not provide much factual information. In the interest of informing
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Firm and Unfirm #nlpoli
With the House of Assembly open again, the major topic of Question Period was Muskrat Falls and the second version of the deal to ship power to Nova Scotia. Premier Kathy Dunderdale explained it on Monday in terms of firm and “non-firm”. Firm power is what you know that the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Oil and Gas Update: 2013 edition #nlpoli
First, the oil. Regular readers will recall the Article 82 issue that will affect how much money the provincial government collects from oil and gas development outside the 200 mile exclusive economic zone. Article 82 of the Law of the Sea Convention requires the coastal state to put up to
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Gnarley Saga #nlpoli
In case you missed it, flip over to Des Sullivan’s blog Uncle Gnarley and look at the tale Des has put together about why Jerome Kennedy quit politics so abruptly a couple of weeks ago: “1. Over the last number of months Kennedy had grown weary of Nalcor’s secrecy. He
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: So the photo ops were a deception? #nlpoli
Reporters asked the premier on Wednesday about comments by Nova Scotia premier-elect Stephen McNeil about Muskrat Falls. Here’s what CBC reported: "Our contract — our agreement — is with Emera. They’re going to sell the power to Nova Scotia," she said. The Telegram had an extra bit along the same
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