Saturday, January 9, 2010

A powerful loophole

NDP admits NSP’s extended deadline had no conditions

The Dexter government failed to ensure wind power developers would get a break from Nova Scotia Power when it extended the power company’s renewable energy deadline, Energy Minister Bill Estabrooks admitted Thursday.

"It’s something we certainly probably should have included," Mr. Estabrooks said after the weekly cabinet meeting.

The minister was commenting on this week’s Chronicle Herald story that Bedford company Shear Wind Inc. had to forfeit a $500,000 security deposit to Nova Scotia Power Inc. for missing a Nov. 30 deadline for providing the utility with green electricity.

Renewable Energy Services of Lower Sackville also missed its Nov. 30 deadline, and its deposit was $550,000.

Company spokesman Jim Meredith told The Chronicle Herald this week that it’s not fair of Nova Scotia Power to take the money, considering the province gave the utility an extension on its agreement to buy electricity generated from renewable sources. Nova Scotia Power did not pass on that extension to its suppliers, Mr. Meredith said.

This fall, the province added a year to Nova Scotia Power’s deadline for obtaining five per cent of its electricity from renewable sources. The new deadline is Dec. 31, 2011.

Mr. Estabrooks said the province could have made a similar break for wind energy producers a condition of Nova Scotia Power’s extension.

"In light of the fact that there was . . . some slack which was delivered to NSP, I mean in return we would hope that there would be that sort of shared relationship with some of these other private contractors," the minister said.

He said he would raise the issue with Nova Scotia Power CEO Rob Bennett when they next met.

Mr. Estabrooks ended up speaking with Mr. Bennett late Thursday afternoon, a company spokesman said.

Mr. Bennett "explained the complex nature of these contracts and how each of the contracts is unique in its own right, and how we’re dealing with each of the producers in an equitable fashion," David Rodenhiser told The Chronicle Herald.

He said "our approach to working with the producers hasn’t changed."

Meanwhile, Premier Darrell Dexter said he’s not sure Nova Scotia Power’s decisions were exactly as reported, and there’s more to come on the situation. He wouldn’t elaborate.

The premier said he knows of one independent power producer who absorbed extra costs to make sure the deadline was met.

Nova Scotia Power signed six contracts with independent power producers in 2008 for 247 megawatts of electricity, enough power for 87,000 homes, to be generated by late 2009. Only RMS Energy, which has installed 34 wind turbines west of New Glasgow, is producing electricity.

With Michael Lightstone, staff reporter


http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1161178.html

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