A couple of provocative articles turned up online over the holidays. Now that everyone is getting back into the work-a-day groove, check them out. Energy consultant Tom Adams took a hard look at Muskrat Falls and gave it a failing grade. Adams doesn’t limit his comments to the MF project
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The Sir Robert Bond Papers: Connies grinch consumers on Muskrat review #nlpoli
Anyone who thinks the governing Conservatives in Newfoundland and Labrador are interested in anything but ramming their megadebt Muskrat Falls deal down the public throat, well, those fine people are just not paying attention. From Friday’s Telegram, public utilities board chairman Andy Wells: "Now we have to have the report
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Muskrat Falls: the PUB review story #nlpoli
The Telegram has the best account of the unsuccessful effort by the public utilities board to get an extension on its review deadline for Muskrat Falls. The whole thing is worth reading, right down to the bit where natural resources minister Jerome Kennedy disputes the role of the consumer advocate
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Undisclosed risk: putting the plan into action #nlpoli
The provincial government is dropping $11.3 million to string fibre optic cables from Goose Bay to western Labrador. The federal government will plunk in $3.0 million with $9.7 million from Bell Aliant. Of the provincial total, Nalcor Energy will cover $8.3 million. Just do the math, though. The provincial government
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Muskrat Falls PIFO #nlpoli
Q: When is an independent review not independent? A: When the project proponents control the timetable for completing the report. Or, as voice of the cabinet minister reports: The provincial government will not be granting the PUB another extension for its review of the Muskrat Falls project. Last week, Natural
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Nalcor and the Muskrat alternatives #nlpoli #cdnpoli
Nalcor’s capital works submission to the public utilities board for 2012 included a last-minute addition of an upgrade to the power lines that connect the Avalon peninsula to the rest of the island. The submission is dated September 22. That’s really important because the Bay d’Espoir/Exploits generating complex has a
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Muskrat Falls deal will succeed: Nalcor boss #nlpoli #nspoli
“I’m optimistic the project is going to succeed,” Nalcor Energy chief executive Ed Martin told the Chronicle-Herald recently. The delay in finishing the negotiations means that, as the CH put it, “the details under negotiation are being tapered to fit with the announced terms [sheet].” Tapered to fit. Great image.
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: A grain of salt #nlpoli
Around this time of year the country’s major banks issue their economic assessments of the current year and their forecasts of the coming one. Royal Bank issued the most recent one. Not surprisingly, the bank’s economists are forecasting that the provinces that are most heavily dependent on natural resources will
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Danger: Lawyer at work #nlpoli
The public utilities board review of the Muskrat Falls project may be a set-up but the lawyer for the board is certainly making Nalcor pay for every single inch of ground. Here’s one of her recent letters for the record straightening out Nalcor’s counsel. Again. This is the kind of
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The price of hydro exports #nlpoli
Via National Public Radio (New York) comes a series on the cost to Americans of importing electricity from Canada. The second instalment – aired December 6 – focused on Labrador and the Muskrat Falls project. There’s the familiar cost from Labrador opponents of the project, in this case former Conservative
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Irresponsibly managed electricity #nlpoli
Energy expert Tom Adams takes about five and a half minutes to explain why “buying at high prices from local generators and selling vast amounts of power to neighbouring utilities at rock bottom prices” is a bad idea. [CBC audio file] Energy supply has been growing in Ontario, especially from
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Emera buys NL line service company #nlpoli
Via CNW: “HALIFAX, Dec. 5, 2011 /CNW/ – Emera Utility Services Inc. (EUS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emera Inc. (TSX: EMA.TO -News), today announced the acquisition of the utility line and communications construction, installation and maintenance business of Green’s Service Station Ltd. (Green’s), a power and communications line construction and
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Dazed and Confused, Muskrat proponents version #nlpoli
Premier Kathy Dunderdale and Emera chief executive Chris Huskilson. Par for the course for the former to be dazed and confused. Somewhat surprising to find the latter a bit off. The issue: the cost of Muskrat Falls electricity. Kathy Dunderdale told the world – via CBC Radio – in November
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Muskrat Falls Friday Trash Dump #nlpoli
The provincial government waited until late Friday afternoon to issue a bulletin that Emera had registered the Nova Scotia interconnection with the environment department for review. That’s weird because Friday is usually when you release news you want to bury. Friday is normally a crap news day since people don’t
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: With friends like these, Muskrat Falls version #nlpoli
Federal natural resources minister Joe Oliver answering a question from Liberal Gerry Byrne during Question Period on Wednesday in the House of Commons. Byrne wanted to know why the federal government was now talking about some equivalent form of financial support but not the loan guarantee originally promised. Gerry Byrne
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Muskrat Morass Deepens #nlpoli
Kathy Dunderdale, Ed Martin and their supporters have a basic problem. In 30 seconds, opponents of the multi-billion project can give a simple, coherent, and unassailable reason why they oppose the project. In 30 minutes or 30 days or 30 weeks or even 30 months, the provincial Conservatives and Nalcor
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: All is well! #nlpoli
Nalcor and Emera announced on Tuesday that they’d agreed to put off the deadline on finishing a deal for the electricity line between Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia to the end of January 2012. The companies issued a news release. “We are making good progress on the agreements,” said
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Missing deadlines #nlpoli
Nalcor and Emera announced on Tuesday that they would miss the November 30 deadline to reach an agreement on building an electricity line between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. They will now take until the end of January 2012 to get it done. But that’s not the only significant deadline they’ve
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: In case you missed it, MF political panel version #nlpoli
All three political parties in Newfoundland and Labrador support Muskrat falls unequivocally. You can tell because all three party representatives on CBC’s On Point panel – Shawn Skinner, Siobhan Coady and Lana Payne – expressed their support for the development. They all parroted Nalcor talking points verbatim and without question.
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Rush job #nlpoli
There’s something about the memorandum of understanding released on Monday in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador that looks rushed. Maybe it’s the fact that the copy that the Nova Scotia government released is not signed. Maybe it’s the fact that there is no contact information at bullet five where
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