Government tweaks another Liberal deal
Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones is pleased to see the
current government building upon the achievements of prior Liberal
administrations.
“Government could have potentially taken advantage
of this wheeling right in the last negotiations.
Wheeling power through Quebec is the inevitable result of the
opening up of the US electricity markets due to deregulation.
These changes required jurisdictions across North America to allow
the transmission of power generators through their territory.
No action by this government had any impact on that,” noted
Jones.
The direct cause of free transmission of power was
the adoption of the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Orders
888 and 889 in 1996 which opened US energy markets to competition.
The underlying principles the eventual deregulation of the North
American electricity market were established by the US Energy Policy Act
of 1992. This Act called for utility companies to allow external entities
fair access to the electric transmission systems in North America.
Ms.
Jones points out that the real questions about this deal have yet to be
answered. “Government is
quick to make public announcements claiming historic achievements and is
equally quick to hide any details about them.
These arrangements should not be treated as state secrets which
must be hidden from the public. For
how much will this power be sold? What
is the revenue split between Hydro Quebec, Emera and Nalcor?
Previous government administrations revealed this kind of
information on similar deals while this government hides whatever it
can.”
