MLAs hold emergency debate on Muskrat Falls project
Posted Apr 5, 2012 06:26:42 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Nova Scotia Tories have stepped up their campaign against the Dexter government over power rates and used a rarely-exploited rule of the legislature to make it happen.
Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie called for a special debate on the issue Wednesday night, and members of the legislature agreed.
Baillie said the debate was necessary because of “urgent concerns” about the true cost of the Lower Churchill Project.
On Monday, the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Utilities board said it couldn’t confirm whether the plan to bring power from Labrador to Newfoundland would cost less than if the island generates its own power.
The board said it didn’t have enough information and cited gaps in the reliability of the Muskrat Falls plan.
Baillie says says he supports green power, but it has to be the cheapest option.
“Let the debate begin, but let’s agree, at the end fo the day, if we can’t prove it’s the lowest-priced choice, let’s go find the lowest-priced choice,” he said. “That is how we can bring down the price of electricity in Nova Scotia.”
Baillie says he was pleased all MLAs agreed to the emergency debate, but says nothing will happen unless the majority NDP government takes action – and that didn’t seem likely.
Premier Darrell Dexter said during the debate that several studies have shown the project is the lowest-cost option for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Energy Minister Charlie Parker took the opportunity to throw the problem back at the Conservatives.
“This has been the Conservative plan for too long. Coal has gone up from $20 a tonne, today it’s well over $60 a tonne,” he said. “We have to get away from fossil fuels and get onto more renewables.”
Baillie said he’s also concerned about the downgrading of Emera’s credit rating.
“Standard & Poor’s is warning that the power company’s debt load, growing because of the NDP’s targets, could be covered by further rate increases,” he states in a release.
