Imagine that - the more we giveaway the richer Emera shareholders become

Emera's Labrador power deal a "game changer"...
The following excerpt is from a Globe and Mail article November 2010

He said Emera would reap a windfall in transmission fees if Nalcor can sell its full surplus electricity into New Brunswick and the United States while its Nova Scotia Power subsidiary earns a guaranteed rate of return for selling 20 per cent of the power to its own customers. Nalcor and Emera expect that as much as 40 per cent of the 800-megawatt capacity for the Muskrat Falls development will be available for sale outside the two provinces.
Analysts expect Emera will see a boost to its earnings per share as a result of the deal. Petro Panarites of CIBC World Markets raised his target price for the company’s shares based on a higher earnings forecast, though he cautioned there are still hurdles before the success of the project can be guaranteed.
However, the success of the deal depends greatly on government climate change policies, and on the willingness of voters to absorb higher electricity prices as utilities phase out lower-cost coal- and oil-fired generation and replace it with hydro and other renewables.

Imagine that the more power and thereby industry we can dump into other jurisdictions the more of a windfall for Emera. I think the headline says it all. They already see their (Emera shareholders) future is that resource they call Labrador power. This deal will ruin the future potential for the next two generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The time for debate on this is now. We have several months to force this issue and we will. Each and every day more information will come out on the extent of this giveaway. This time we must say no and not sit back and wait for our grandchildren talk about this deal the same way our generation talks about the Upper Churchill deal. 

On the Tory leadership debacle - the wrong is so obvious that we really must focus on what's important - not whether or not Kathy Dunderdale will personally and professionally prevail. When set against the backdrop of our children's future - frankly my dear I don't give a damn.  

How Colonial can they be?

Danny wants to hightail Lower Churchill Power to the Island - but believes it is too expensive to service areas of Labrador. Gerry wants to exploit all Labrador resources - and give them some of the revenue back.

Both are colonial - both are backward - both are experiencing Island disease - and both are wrong.

The Lower Churchill power must be used to develop Labrador - industrially - in that way Labrador can benefit from population growth - a booming economy - infrastructure development - and municipal revenues.

Here's the tough part for St. John's or Carbonear - the boys want to export the power - grab the money - and pass some back to Labrador for what they (Gerry and Danny) thinks Labrador needs.

They prefer to receive more money and let the industry - jobs - and people go to Ontario - than - receive less money and grow industry in Labrador and keep Newfoundlanders and Labradorians home. Even this colonial attitude is wrong - because mathematically - for a "society" not a "cable monopoly" it is best to use the power home.

Danny does not expect you to read the Blue Book - he just wants you to adore and follow him - blinders are in the mail. Gerry thinks all red books end up in the "trunks of cars" and that nobody really wants to read that stuff anyway.

Maybe the two gurus can much on these tasty bits from the "energy for industry" world. (That's the one everybody else lives in but us)

These statements from a story in the Gulf News out of the Middle East:

The world is currently experiencing a shrinkage in the number of 'power islands' able to competitively support energy intensive industries such as aluminium production. In recent times, new power supply contracts at considerably higher prices in the United States and parts of Western Europe have resulted in a number of smelter output reductions and permanent closures.

In the future, new aluminium smelting capacity is expected to be concentrated in areas such as the Middle East, Russia, Iceland and South America.

And then there is this from the The Wall Street Journal Online:

With energy prices steadily increasing, the world's biggest aluminum companies are investing heavily to secure dedicated power sources, at times buying local power plants or building aluminum-making operations in remote parts of the world where energy is more abundant and cheaper.

United Co. Rusal, Alcoa Inc., Norsk Hydro ASA and others are jockeying to corner supplies of hydro power in Siberia and Iceland, and cheap natural gas in the Middle East, to fuel new metal plants. The producers are acknowledging that it is more important to be closer to energy sources than to customers...

The only thing missing in these stories is a direct reference to Labrador - that is because neither the Tory nor Liberal leader have the guts and/or intelligence to do what is right with Lower Churchill power - if it is to be developed at all.

I expect there is a good reason Norsk Hydro and other Norwegian firms visit Sue's Blog - don't you think?