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DAM ENQUIRY As dam inquiry grinds along, A dismal tale unfolds. It follows on the lines That the Gnarley Blog foretold. With bullying and with bluster A �bill of goods� was sold. Next we need to ask Of fraud and theft untold? Or is it plain stupidity That left us debt to hold? John Tuach  October 30, 2018

Former senior bureaucrat To dd Stanley was on the witness stand at the Muskrat Falls Inquiry last Monday, October 22. All witnesses at the Inquiry are interviewed by Commission Counsel, but his interview is noteworthy for several reasons. Mr. Stanley's constituted the most frank appraisal yet of the relationship that existed between public servants and Nalcor senior executives when approval of the Muskrat Falls development was being whisked through the Government's  approval process. A 17-year veteran (2001 � 2018) of the public service, Stanley rose to the position of Deputy Minister of Justice. He also served as Counsel to the Department of Natural Resources in the early days of the Muskrat Falls development.   An important role of public servants is to assess and analyse public policy initiatives of all kinds, and to give advice to the Government. When an entity like Nalcor is permitted to by-pass normal bureaucratic processes  � having been given free access to the P...

Guest Post by PlanetNL PlanetNL17: Exploding NL Transmission Costs A Terrible Blunder While Muskrat Falls �the dam� is the object of much well-deserved scorn, the transmission line parts of the project may not be receiving all the critical attention they deserve.   This post examines cost recovery for the transmission assets on A C/kWh basis to demonstrate just how uneconomic they are. Along the way, transmission costs in other jurisdictions are compared and the economics for importing or exporting energy over the Maritime Link are examined.   The conclusion is that Muskrat and the Maritime Link will do only thing well: deliver benefits to Nova Scotia. Pre-Muskrat Cost of Transmission For a long time, the high voltage (66kV and higher) transmission aspect of NL Hydro has been less than one-tenth of annual overall costs.   That ratio will go way when cost recovery begins on the Muskrat project transmission assets.  Within the latest General Rate Application documents,...

Surely there must be some aspect of the Muskrat Falls affair in which there is evidence that the public interest mattered? Actually, no. So far, the facts only show a myopic determination to get the project sanctioned. At the Inquiry, even the fundamental integrity of Nalcor senior management is now under scrutiny. On the witness stand, Derek Owen confirmed email evidence that Paul Harrington, MF Project Director, attempted to influence the conclusions of a process known as a Cold Eyes Review. The Independent Review Panel (IRP) struck for the purpose was chaired by Owen. It was an electrifying moment to be sure, possibly in part because we may be witnessing how unfettered executive privilege becomes empowered in an atmosphere of political bombast. The Commission has not even been able to find government-prepared analysis of the project. Former Premier Williams was asked by the Commissioner to help locate the work.  The Harrington story is serious business.  Derek Owen ( Far Le...

According to some observers, John Mallam, P. Eng. ought to have been � minimally � the Vice-President of Nalcor. He had served in senior roles at Hydro for most of his engineering career and rose to the position of Vice-President of the �regulated� subsidiary � utility speak for an entities under the control of the Public Utilities Board. He now serves on the Nalcor Board of Directors. On the witness stand at the Muskrat Falls Inquiry, Mallam did not seem to fit the pliant mould that afforded cronyism to run rampant at Nalcor's senior level. Upon Nalcor�s creation, becoming the parent of Hydro and other subsidiaries holding provincial assets including Bull Arm, some senior executives were shown the door following Ed Martin's arrival.  Perhaps it was just that retirement beckoned and that it was time for Mallam to go. Whatever the case, the long-time mechanical engineer exhibited for the Commissioner a level of confidence, clarity and expertise that spoke to why he had been give...

Danny Williams' inability to address the issues raised in the Grant Thornton Forensic Audit or answer for why the Commission of Inquiry is unable to find any detailed analysis performed by his Administration on the Muskrat Falls project seems not to have inspired in himself even a moment of reflection. Rather, he returned to the Inquiry evidently for his pound of flesh as early critics, David Vardy and Ron Penney, sat in front of the Commissioner, too. Williams could be seen lurking on the sidelines, the former Premier still hoping that some of his dignity might yet be salvaged. He was waiting for his brother, Tommy, to land a few body blows on Vardy and Penney. He left disappointed.  Observing Tommy brought to mind a well-known citation attributed to Napoleon, one I had hoped our legal counsel would be mindful of. A paraphrasing of the adage might read: never interrupt your adversary when he is in the process of self-destruction.   It was the Commissioner, however, who wisel...

Guest Post by PlanetNL PlanetNL16: Needles in Haystacks, Symptoms of An Ongoing Accountability Problem Participants and followers of the Muskrat Inquiry and earlier Muskrat reviews suffer simultaneously from information overload and yet a dearth of the vital information they are often seeking.   Nalcor and Government may have provided reams of materials but much of it is window dressing that gives little insight into key decision-making issues.   Take for example the Commissioner�s direct message to former Premier Williams that there is no evidence of anyone inside Government performing a critical review of Muskrat information supplied by Nalcor. Too often it appears that the more important the issue, the less there is to be found.   In today�s post we revisit the issue of post-Muskrat rates being based on a two-tier declining rate scheme as a tiny but significant new nugget of information has been found about it.   Such a rate scheme would be a huge change in policy...