Energy Minister Andrew Younger told me Friday the talks were supposed to happen before the start of the holiday season but conflicting schedules didn’t allow it. Instead, the tete-a-tete is to occur in the coming weeks.

“The purpose of this is to look at what import options may be available (and) if they benefit ratepayers,” Younger wrote in an email.

As mentioned in Friday’s column, Quebec Premier Pauline Marois has decided to use cheap electricity as the centrepiece of a new development strategy for her province. Before Christmas, her Parti Quebecois government announced it would be offering cut-rate electricity to new manufacturers and industrial users in exchange for job creation.

Quebec’s economy has been sputtering for the last year, and the minority PQ government has been under pressure to do something to spark an economic revival.

Observers in Nova Scotia also believe Quebec’s plan is to become aggressive before the completion of the Muskrat Falls hydro project in Newfoundland and Labrador. If Newfoundland decides to follow Quebec’s lead and use electricity as a loss leader to attract new development, it could be a battle to the bottom.

In the meantime, Nova Scotia ratepayers are paying about $1.5 billion to build the Maritime Link undersea cable to bring Muskrat Falls power to Nova Scotia in exchange for 20 per cent of the power generated there for 30 years. The issue for ratepayers here is the cost of that electricity.
The price of the Nova Scotia block of power under the Maritime Link deal, according to the province’s consumer advocate, John Merrick, is about double the current market rate. It is essential that Nova Scotia gain access to additional power from Newfoundland and Labrador at market rates, which could be blended with the higher-priced Maritime block.

The Maritime Link arrangement was not approved by the Nova Scotia regulator until there was some kind of deal securing access to the additional market-rate electricity from Newfoundland’s Crown-owned utility, Nalcor. The blending of the two rates is supposed to make the acquisition of Muskrat Falls electricity more palatable to Nova Scotia ratepayers.

The sputtering Quebec economy, along with some of its hydroelectricity being replaced with low-cost natural gas by U.S. customers, has meant Hydro-Quebec has excess capacity. Nova Scotia may be hedging its bets if it can acquire some of Hydro-Quebec’s surplus electricity.

Nova Scotia’s energy minister told me he believes Nova Scotians are protected despite Quebec’s aggressive marketing plan. Younger said in his email that the Maritime Link deal is based on the market price of electricity, and if the market price drops, it will also be reflected in the price Nova Scotians pay for the energy.

While in opposition, Younger and the Liberals encouraged the former NDP government to investigate acquiring power from Quebec as an alternative to the Newfoundland and Labrador arrangement. Now that he is in authority, Younger said he was interested when Quebec first made contact about a possible meeting to talk about electricity rates.

He said he was told by Quebec representatives that the NDP government wasn’t interested in meeting. Although there isn’t any evidence to prove the Dexter government refused, Younger said it is “interesting they never met.”

It appears Quebec wants some kind of deal, and blending the Quebec price with the Maritime Link price could have a dramatic impact on Nova Scotia power rates.

At the very least, from a Nova Scotia perspective, it is an opportunity worth exploring. But it may also ruffle the feathers of Newfoundland and Labrador.