Will the 'little guy' be taking the brunt for this new agreement?

A18

Hanne Armstrong

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Speak Up

Okay, so our exalted provincial premier has signed this great deal with Hydro Quebec that will bail NB Power out of 4.8 million dollars' worth of debt. He's a hero, is Shawn. After all, in economic times like these, the elimination of any debt is a huge accomplishment. And shutting down the filthy thermal generating plants makes him an environmental hero too. Absolutely.

Not.

Sure, getting rid of that amount of debt is a good thing, and so is shutting down dirty generating plants. But at what cost?

"And ratepayers would see reduced rates to an extent that would have been impossible for NB Power as a stand-alone entity," says Shawn in a CBC interview.

What??? Hello, is this thing on?!?!?

According to the deal struck between Quebec and New Brunswick, for the next five years residential electricity bills in New Brunswick will be frozen. They won't go up. Nor will they go down. How the *#!%* does that qualify as "reduced rates"? Not only that, Hydro Quebec has as much as promised that after the freeze, rates are guaranteed to go up, keeping up with inflation.

Corporations in our fine province, though, will see an immediate reduction in their power rates (ah, that's where the reduced rates come in). So, basically we're talking about what, good old JD getting even richer? Okay, so not just him and all his companies, but, still, why should industry benefit while the little guy you and me pay the piper? Sorry, pay the power bill.

So, Shawn, tell us, are you so desperate to reduce a longstanding and increasing debt that you'll kiss anybody's anything and to hell with costs to the people who put you in office?

I know, I know, New Brunswick negotiating with Quebec is like Canada negotiating with the US: the little guy is hardly ever holding the stick and almost always getting the short end of it. But then walk away, Shawn. Don't sell your population down the river. Have the stones to do the right thing and walk away.

Hydro Quebec, meanwhile, is laughing all the way through New Brunswick to the US and then back to the bank. On the way, they'll dribble crumbs in the form of electricity, crumbs for which they charge Quebec customers a great deal less than what we're to be locked into for five years. In fact, they expect to start seeing a return on their investment of more than 10 per cent in a year. On our backs.

I checked at the Hydro Quebec website. Residential customers there pay 5.45 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 30 kWh's they use during each day, and 7.46 cents once they're over 30. I also had a look at my most recent NB Power bill. I'm paying 9.69 for every kilowatt hour I use. For October, even with my electric heat on part of the time, I used less than 26 kWh's per day, so if I was a Quebec resident, I'd pay at that low 5.45 cents per kWh. That's 57 per cent less than I'm paying now, and will be committed to pay for five years. Unless you're a prodigal waster of electricity, homes that aren't heated with electricity could likely stay under or close to that 30 kWh line most of the year. But that matters only in Quebec. Not here.

Not here, where Hydro Quebec will now be able to transmit power to the States without paying a cent for the use of former NB Power transmission lines. Not here, where the little guy is being left out in the cold by his premier. Not here, in the smaller province that is letting itself be bossed by a much larger province and corporate entity.

Sure, I realize that NB Power has been mismanaged into a crushing debt load. And I realize that something has to be done about it. But why not retain ownership of the thing and, say, let Hydro Quebec use our transmission lines to US markets for free for a stipulated period of time in exchange for clean hydro power for New Brunswick at a price that would lower rates for everybody by a couple of cents per kilowatt hour? If Hydro Quebec doesn't like that idea, if they don't want access to those transmission lines badly enough, then walk away. Wait for a better deal to come along. But don't let the residents of this province become the corporate second class citizens of Hydro Quebec.

This isn't a good deal for New Brunswickers, and there's no spin that can make it so. And it still has to make it through the provincial legislature, Shawn, so watch out. The little guys you're selling out all have legs to walk in protest, phones or e-mail to speak in protest, and votes in the next election. If only they'll use them.