Sue's Blog

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Will we be buying OUR Power from Emera next?

While PUB hearings continue on the "proposed" Muskrat Falls deal - Emera is humming along creeping further and further into Newfoundland and Labrador.

This "proposed" deal must just be words for show - similar to the "consumer (us)" PUB hearings that are underway - albeit controlled, manipulated, and interfered with.

Slowly but surely - the establishment that wanted to rid you of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro - are coming back to try again. We are going to be hammered and privatized.

Please read the story below from the Chronicle Herald:

Emera Utility Services Inc. announced Monday that it has acquired a Newfoundland company, establishing its first presence in that province.

Emera Utility Services has purchased Green’s Service Station Ltd., a utility line and communications construction, installation and maintenance business in Goobies, N.L.

A purchase price was not disclosed by the Nova Scotia company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Emera Inc.

“We’re not going to disclose the purchase price, other than it is not material to Emera,” said Emera Utility Services president and chief operating officer Dan Muldoon in a phone interview.

While Emera Newfoundland & Labrador, a company developing a Maritime link associated with the Lower Churchill project, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emera Inc., Monday’s announced acquisition represents the first foray for Emera Utility Services into the Newfoundland market.

 The company has facilities in Dartmouth, Truro, Sydney, Saint John, Moncton, Fredericton and Charlottetown.

The acquisition represented an opportunity for the company to find a new market to grow its business, Muldoon said.

“Part of our growth strategy over the last number of years has been to both diversify our lines of businesses as well as on a geographic basis,” he said.

“And Newfoundland is a logical step for us given the amount of future activity in transmission line construction that could happen in that province.”

What made Green’s attractive was that it focused on transmission line maintenance and construction, an area of growth targeted by Emera Utility Services.

“We were looking over there for a while and Green’s has been around for almost 30 years, has a very good, solid reputation for performing quality work and has good relationships with customers,” Muldoon said. “And we felt, of the companies over there, Green’s was the best one for us to acquire.”

As part of the transaction, the entire existing staff of 80 full- and part-time employees from Green’s, including founder and former president Vernon Smith, will join the Emera Utility Services team. Smith has been retained as the new managing director.

“It is a construction company so its staffing levels go up and down based on the amount of projects that they actually have currently underway,” Muldoon said.

While future growth in Newfoundland is planned, Muldoon said the company will focus on moving forward with Green’s.

“I think at this time we’re going to use the next number of weeks to actually integrate Green’s into our operations and get a position for the amount of current work that we have over there with the customers.

“We hope to grow the company based on what we think potentially could be a fair amount of work over there.”
 _________________________________________________________________

So what's next? Will they be seeking all the maintenance from Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro's system? Will they be seeking to buy Newfoundland Power?

This Nova Scotia Company and a few wealthy investors want it all - right?

One thing for certain - the tone of the comments confirms that they think the deal on Muskrat is done and they are getting corporately bored - while our Premier puts on a show for the people. 

Flip those utilities say the amigos. How long after Emera takes all what's here in power before HQ buys these assets out?

What a legacy for our children!

3 comments:

Edward Hollett said...

Sue:

Just that your readers don't get the wrong idea, this post of yours is old news. Emera bought Green's back in December. SRBP reported it at the time and maybe others did as well. you didn't give a link or a date to the CH story so I thought people might like to know when that happened.

As well, Green's is a line service company. They don't make or distribute electricity. These guys just strong the cable.

As for buying electricity from Emera, as you know from the term sheet, Emera will hold a minimum interest in the line from Muskrat to Soldier's Pond. you won't be buying from them directly, but they will be helping to ship it to your house. And you will be paying them for it.

lastly, this has nothing to do with privatization. This one is all the result of having a public sector company - Hydro - turned into a giant energy company (Nalcor) backed by a provincial government that, like it's predecessor, was happy to slowly make the public company unaccountable for much of its activity. This has nothing to do with privatization and everything to do with uncontrolled state-capitalism.

There's some factual information for you. I hope that answers the many questions you seem to have about this particular issue.

I doubt you will post this.

Sue Kelland-Dyer said...

Yes Ed - they did do so in December - I prob referenced myself. The description of Green's is not accurate - cable only? Come on now. Yes it has to do with privatization and yes they clearly have an interest in transmission and distribution.
This reflects a problem with the process.
While we are at it - please tell me how Hydro Quebec is not able to buy this subsidiary whenever they choose?
While you are in a commentary mood - talk about the deal signed by MacDonald and Tobin on CFLco and perhaps you could enlighten us on the 2041 situation.
Since they purchased the company what has Emera been up to? Are they talking to Nalcor about this?

Anonymous said...

When are the properly phrased questions going to be put to NALCOR and the real owners of the Muskrat Falls Project, former top politicians of Newfoundland and Labrador and the province of Nova Scotia. Again the people of Newfoundland and Labrador will be paying exhorbitantly for their resources, through their taxdollars, hydro payments and the wealth from their Oil, which will be used to pay for this project and the only ones who will see any pay dough from this will be politicians, both past and present, and their buddies and Nova Scotia?

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have to rise up just like people all around the World have to get our rights.

We have been waiting patiently here in newfoundland and Labrador for 63 years to gain some equality with the rest of Canada in economic growth and infrastructure that contain jobs, but it always evades and eludes us because some other part of Canada has to take control over our resources and our not so honest politicicans allow it to get their piece of the pie.