Opposition says clean energy won't be made in N.B.

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BY GREG WESTON
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

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FREDERICTON - The proposed sale of NB Power to Hydro-Québec will have environmental benefits for the province, but whether it brings about all of the green energy goals Premier Shawn Graham envisions remains to be seen.

The $4.75-billion deal would see all of New Brunswick's non-fossil fuel burning plants sold to the Quebec utility company and an increased flow of clean hydroelectricity from that province.

"Hydro-Québec has the greatest storehouse of renewable energy on the continent," David Hay, president and CEO of NB Power said at the announcement on Thursday.

"Becoming part of this group can only benefit New Brunswickers in this regard and ensure that we meet not only the expectations of New Brunswick, but of the world."

New Brunswick's fossil fuel plants would likely be closed with the introduction of any kind of carbon tax or international emissions agreement, adding to the province's use of green power and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. In an interview with the Times & Transcript last week, Graham said it's only a matter of time before such an environmental pact makes the continued use of those plants too expensive.

"We know, going forward over the next few years, a cap-and-trade system is going to be implemented that is going to push up the price of our electricity that is produced here in the province of New Brunswick," he said.

The premier added on Friday that the deal still allows for private companies to sell power onto New Brunswick's grid, making the sale just a part of the ongoing development of the province's energy sector.

"We've brought a new player into the marketplace," he said. "That new player now has the opportunity to partner with other private-sector companies and other entities throughout North America and within New Brunswick for energy sector developments."

David Coon of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick says the way the deal is structured, with guaranteed rates for a specified amount of electricity, will encourage the province to explore potential areas for energy reduction and increased efficiency.

But Jeannot Volpé, Progressive Conservative MLA and a former energy minister who oversaw the restructuring of NB Power during Bernard Lord's tenure as premier, doesn't think that's likely to happen. He says that while the potential is there for private, renewable energy projects, they likely won't be economically viable.

"Any new generation, would that be windmills or whatever, right now is higher than what you're paying (for Quebec's power)," he says, since that province's inexpensive hydroelectricity makes it hard to get other kinds of power onto the grid and still make a profit.

The Conseil économique du Nouveau-Brunswick, the largest French-speaking business network in Atlantic Canada with approximately 1,000 members from various sectors, also expressed uncertainty about what the deal could mean for the long-term. "The government must be particularly vigilant about details so as to avoid mortgaging New Brunswick's participation in the energy economy of north-eastern North America for the next generations," Louis-Philippe Gauthier, the association's president stated.

"CÉNB will withhold its support to this agreement until the details and reach of the changes to the Law that regulates energy in the province have been fully disclosed."