While N.L. is reluctant to start Churchill Falls talks with Quebec, experts say it's inevitable
CBC
It's very rare for a Quebec premier to show so much interest in Newfoundland and Labrador.
But over the last month François Legault has frequently talked about how keen he is to sit down with Andrew Furey
"In the next few months we have to negotiate the contract with Newfoundland and Labrador for Churchill Falls," he told reporters in January.
For 50 years Quebec has enjoyed cheap plentiful power from Churchill Falls. One estimate suggests that as of 2019 Quebec had reaped $28 billion from the deal, with Newfoundland and Labrador getting only $2 billion.
Quebec is buying electricity for just 0.2 cents a kilowatt-hour and selling it to its customers for 7.3 cents.
But in 18 years the deal runs out and Legault is determined to make sure Quebec doesn't lose access to 15 per cent of its power.
People who've met with Legault say he's motivated by two things: protecting the French language and building Quebec's economy.
Much of the province's industry has been built on access to cheap electricity, and the push to decarbonize only means the demand for other sources of energy is going to grow.
Quebec's analysis says by 2050 the province will need an additional 100 terawatt-hours, or three times the total output of Churchill Falls, in additional power.
That's going to be difficult enough without losing access to the power from Churchill Falls, which would be a huge setback.
Eighteen years may seem like a long time but Hydro-Québec needs to plan. If it's going to lose Churchill Falls power, then it needs time to build other power generation, new dams, wind farms and other sources of power.
That's why Legault wants to try to work out a deal now. He knows Newfoundland and Labrador has a strong position heading into negotiations, especially if Quebec doesn't have a backup plan.
That's why he's been pressuring Hydro-Québec to start planning for new hydro projects.
Right now it has no new dams in development, and he's been pushing them to change that.
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