However, there has remained uncertainty over whether the province can send power from the proposed Lower Churchill project – whether the province can go it alone on funding the $6.5 billion development is another matter entirely.
Concerns raised by Hydro-Québec’s failed purchase of New Brunswick’s power assets – seen by Premier Williams as a way to monopolize access to the United States market – may have created some urgency for Newfoundland and Labrador to find a way to move power without dealing with Quebec.
A $375 million power cable is a major project, and whether Stephen Harper’s government would be agreeable to such a proposition is debateable. Last week, Premier Harper was bemoaning the fact the federal government had to cover a $130 million payout to AbitibiBowater for the expropriation of its Grand Falls-Windsor assets.
While the feds may be covering that matter now, who’s to say it won’t mean Newfoundland and Labrador won’t be making up for it some other way.
All the while, the Lower Churchill project remains a tantalizing prospect for providing additional wealth for the province – the sort that will last beyond the oil wells bringing money into the provincial economy. There may be many roadblocks to deal with yet.
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