DenyAsk

Guest Post by PlanetNL PlanetNL10 � Atlantic Canada Energy Rates � the Deception of Parity Where Muskrat Falls is concerned, the Government, regardless of party, has a clear track record of getting the facts wrong. The trend continues as we transition toward the operations and cost recovery phase of project.   The latest misguided gem � being relied upon by NL Hydro at the General Rate Application hearings last week � is Premier Dwight Ball�s stated rate target of 18 c/KWh for residential rates.   The Premier defends this as being comparable to expected rates in the other Atlantic Canadian provinces.   It doesn�t take much research and insight to demonstrate that the Premier couldn�t be more wrong on this issue. �.. Let�s go through each province one at a time.   Prince Edward Island The PEI market has developed over 25% on-island wind-generated supply (second only to Denmark in this measure) to displace on-island thermal generation while the balance of electricity i...

Noticeably more people, including readers of this Blog, want to see public discussion of a resolution to the financial mess created by Muskrat. While their numbers are still small, their voices are discernible. It seems that most people are still in denial as to the scope of the problem. Delusion causes them to believe that government would never imperil the solvency of the province.   Yet, as one Muskrat watcher observed recently, the public will be in a "rage when they learn just the simple truths" of what the project will cost them in relation to the cost per KWh of thermal generation at Holyrood.  Likely, that rage will be compounded when people learn the extent to which the Tories and the Liberals failed to share with them the whole truth of the debacle. Fortunately, not thirty or forty percent of the population but just one or two percent are needed � provided that they are focused and relentless - to cause a shift in government�s thinking. The voices of even this small...

Co-written with PlanetNL Netflix features an interesting PBS documentary called The Race Underground dealing with the technological, political and social challenges of building the first U.S. electric subway, in Boston, in the late 1800s.   The project had a lot of naysayers. Some were concerned about the destruction of the historic city (especially Boston Common, America�s oldest public park); others about the enormous financial risk described as �� a jump into the unknown.�   The superstitious and the religious feared that going underground meant getting close to �the netherworld�. Then there were the dangers of electricity. A vote �by the narrowest of margins� brought the matter to a close and the subway was built. The people loved it. The subway cars were clean and clothes ceased being fouled by sooty coal-fired steam engines. Congestion in downtown Boston disappeared and allowed even more people to come in. The suburbs grew rapidly. Not lost on anyone was the presence of ...

Forgetfulness must be nature�s screen; one that affords people the capacity to not be weighed down by the skewed and self-serving utterances of others.   Gord, an old University friend, had a single word for them� which I plan to share with you. Not surprisingly, the press release recently issued by former Nalcor CEO Ed Martin on the heels of comments by Stan Marshall comes to mind. Ostensibly, the current CEO was attempting a little morale building � at the expense of the truth � following the successful transmission of Upper Churchill �recall� power across the Labrador Island Link. Understandably, he couldn�t wait for VP Gil Bennett to get the lead out on the generation component of the Muskrat Falls project. Stan hadn�t popped the cork on the bottle of Baby Duck when Ed Martin was on the media circuit like a green crab on a clam, claiming credit for something he should be ashamed of. He had not come to praise Stan Marshall or even the Nalcor workers � but to remind us that he ha...

THE N ORTH SP U R � MY F I N A L C O M MENTS Guest Post by James L. Gordon P.Eng.(Retired) Wa y b ac k in 2014, m y i n te re st in the No r th S pur s t a rt e d wh e n I r ea d a short book b y C a bot M a rtin t i t l e d � Muskr a t M a dn e s s � . I t c on c e ntr a ted on the q u e st i on a ble stabil i t y of a n a tur a l side d a m ca l l e d the No r th S pur whi c h c o ntain e d l a y e rs of s a n d y s i lt a nd s e nsi t ive c l a y . I e m a i l e d C a bot, a memb e r of the 2041 c om m i t te e , on Au g ust 2 7 t h c om m e nt i n g on his book, a nd have commented several times on the Uncle Gnarley blog on the North Spur safety. NALCOR describes the Spur as - T he north spur f orms a n atural earthfi l l dam, wi t h a c r e st e le v at i on of abo u t 60 m, and about o n e k m long, which c on n ec ts the ro c k k noll to t he nor t h bank of t he v al l ey ��. T he c r e st w id t h v ari...