Nalcor and Emera signed a finalised term sheet to develop Muskrat Falls in November 2010. The next step was supposed to be negotiation of a final agreement between Nalcor and Emera. Oddly enough, Canadian Press reported on Monday evening that “[s]ources say a deal to finalize a term sheet to
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The Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Magic Number #nlpoli
“Nalcor’s position”, wrote the joint federal-provincial review panel on the Lower Churchill project, “was that up to 800 MW of energy from the Project would be required to meet provincial demand,…”. And there are Nalcor’s forecasts that support the claim that out of the 3,000 megawatts potentially available from the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Demand Forecasts #nlpoli
Yesterday’s offhand reference to Nalcor’s electricity demand forecasts brought home a couple of points to your humble e-scribbler. The biggest one is that a great many people still do not know a lot of the basic information on this project despite the fact the provincial government announced it the better
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: There’s no greater yada than a yada yada #nlpoli
The Nunatukavut are a group of aboriginal people living in Labrador. They used to be known as the Labrador Metis. In October 2003, Danny Williams told them – in writing – that his Conservative administration “will involve the Labrador Metis Nation, as we will representatives of all residents of Labrador,
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Managing Electricity Demand #nlpoli
Nalcor’s forecast for electricity demand on the island of Newfoundland doesn’t really show a massive increase over the next couple of decades. Earlier this year, Memorial University economist Jim Feehan suggested that one alternative to Muskrat Falls was demand management. That is, he suggested that Nalcor try some ways of
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: There’s reality and … #nlpoli
Premier Kathy Dunderdale decided to talk about reality on Monday. A reality check she called it: “Everybody sees what’s happening with the price of oil, and I see every day what that’s doing to our budget,” the premier said. [CBC online story] Dunderdale warned that the provincial government’s deficit this
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Magical Thinking and the Muskrat Falls Tax #nlpoli
Muskrat Falls seems to be intimately connected to magic, at least in some people’s minds. For a while there, the gang at Nalcor sounded like they had found a way to make electricity and then ship it back upstream to Churchill Falls where it would be converted back to water.
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: More Muskrat Falls Sunk Cost #nlpoli
That $350 million in sunk costs from Monday morning’s post wasn’t the whole story, of course. You’ll find more detail – and lots more cash – documented in the public utilities board’s final report on Muskrat Falls. In addition to the $350 million spent up to the end of March
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Rae backs Muskrat…sort of #nlpoli #cdnpoli
Big screaming CBC headline: Federal Liberals support Muskrat Falls project: Rae Then you read the story. “Newfoundland is rich in hydro-electricity, and it’s not right that hydro-electricity should be cooped up in one of part of the country and not be able to be used for Newfoundlanders and in the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Sunk Cost – Muskrat Falls #nlpoli
The chart below is taken from a Nalcor information hand-out describing the project’s capital expenditures to the end of March 2011. What that covers are the various costs for engineering, staff, advertising and communications and anything else that the Labrador project office has spent getting ready to build the project.
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Dazed and Confused: Swinimer version #nlpoli
You know things are bad when even the people who back Muskrat Falls without question start challenging stuff that has long ago been proven correct. The heir to the Moon Man’s crown got some things right. If you consider that the cost for Emera of building the Nova Scotia line
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Stuff We Don’t Know #nlpoli
Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns: there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Going down by the front end #nlpoli
In the late 1980s, the Progressive Conservative administration in Newfoundland and Labrador committed more than $11 million to a plan to grow cucumbers and tomatoes using hydroponic technology developed by Philip Sprung. Sprung predicted his technology would grow almost seven million pounds of cucumbers and tomatoes in its first year
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Executive Politics and Muskrat Falls #nlpoli
In this series, we are not concerned with whether or not the Muskrat Falls project is good or bad. That is a separate issue. Nor are we presenting information you shouldn’t already have. Very little of what you will read should come as a surprise, especially if you read SRBP
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: High Politics and Muskrat Falls #nlpoli
“[M]ega-projects”, writes political scientist Will Jennings,” exhibit a ‘performance paradox’ …being prevalent and popular among planners despite suffering from extremely poor track records in terms of completion times, cost escalations and shortfalls in projected revenues and economic benefits.” Jennings looked at several projects to see why the projects tended to
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Cost Over-Runs and Muskrat Falls #nlpoli
When announced in November 2010, the Muskrat Falls dam, the line to the island the connection to Nova Scotia were supposed to cost $6.2 billion. The dam and the line to the island were priced at $5.0 billion. The Nova Scotia line was supposed to cost $1.2 billion. As it
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Inevitable Muskrat Falls #nlpoli
One reported tweeted his impression of the attitude toward Muskrat Falls that seems to come from the provincial governments in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. While the content was one thing, he felt people should note the tone: The attitude towards Muskrat is increasingly one of both NL and
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Hebron Dispute: No more give-aways, indeed #nlpoli
When it comes to the Hebron project, Premier Kathy Dunderdale should know exactly what went wrong with the development deal between the province and the companies. She should know every give-away in it. After all, she was natural resources minister at the time. Dunderdale made an oblique reference to the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Muskrat Falls Money Quote 3 #nlpoli
Premier Kathy Dunderdale, Muskrat Falls lover, from a scrum on Thursday: Dunderdale said due diligence is more important than artificial timelines but that the two sides are "considerably closer" to an agreement. A deal will be done before her government debates Muskrat Falls this fall, she said, "sometime before November,
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Muskrat Falls Money Quote 1 #nlpoli
Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter, in a scrum after meeting with Premier Kathy Dunderdale about cost over-runs on Muskrat Falls: "Here is this project that we have that can provide stability because we’re going to know what the input costs are upfront. And that will provide stability for many, many
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