N.B. asked to review Lower Churchill transmission bid

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro made an official request on Tuesday to move electricity from its planned Lower Churchill megaproject across New Brunswick.

Premier Danny Williams told reporters the Crown-owned corporation has applied for long-term transmission service from the New Brunswick System Operator, a non-profit body that governs the New Brunswick grid.

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro is scouting for ways to deliver power from the Lower Churchill project, which is currently before an environmental review process,that don'trequiregoing directly to markets through Quebec. That option would depend on Quebec's approval.

Williams described the Lower Churchill— a two-site, 2,800-megawatt project in Labrador— as offering "a long-term, reliable, clean electricity supply that can contribute to a made-in-Canada solution to meeting our nation's clean-energy requirements."

In a statement that did not even refer toQuebec, the Newfoundland and Labrador government said the Lower Churchill could enable "significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from electrical generation in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario."

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro says it is giving serious consideration to a transmission route that would include subsea cabling to the Maritimes, allowing for transmission to potential markets in the U.S. or the rest of Canada.

"There's no question that the maritime subsea route is technically feasible — we're very clear on that," Ed Martin, chief executive officer of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, told reporters.

Martin said the Crown corporation was assigned to come up with possible ways to develop the Lower Churchill project, and deliver them to the provincial government.

Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec have had a contentious relationship for decades over hydroelectric power, largely because of the contract governing the Upper Churchill project. Under that 65-year contract, Quebec has been able to sell inexpensive Labrador-generated power at higher rates to its clients.

Last year, Williams said the "volatile" nature of politics in Quebec made the Lower Churchill project a more stable option.