UPDATED: Former CEO of Nalcor touts power flow to Soldier’s Pond

Former Nalcor CEO touts power flow to Soldier’s Pond

DECK:

Ed Martin, former CEO of Nalcor Energy, sent a news release Thursday morning touting the deliverance of power from the Upper Churchill to Soldiers Pond, but he was soon met with a scathing response from the Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady.

While Martin said Muskrat Falls “will have a meaningful impact on citizens,” Coady wrote her own statement calling his “disturbing.”

“Ed Martin continues to speak of Muskrat Falls’ false promises, while ratepayers in Newfoundland and Labrador are on the hook for a substantial increase in rates,” she wrote.

Martin stepped down as CEO of Nalcor April 20, 2016. The company’s board of directors then fired him without cause — making him eligible for a very generous compensation package. Following that, the entire Nalcor board resigned.

Martin’s departure from Nalcor created controversy and drew criticism from all sides.

But Martin appears to feel vindicated after comments Wednesday by current Nalcor CEO Stan Marshall, who applauded the progress of the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project and the flow of power from Labrador to eastern Newfoundland.

“I wanted to recognize the employees and their achievement, more than anything else,” Marshall said, speaking at the Soldiers Pond transmission site about 40 minutes from St. John’s during a media tour on Wednesday.

“I was so pleased to see the historic milestone yesterday, as power flowed for the first time ever from the great Upper Churchill River to the new convertor and terminal station at Soldier’s Pond,” Martin said in the early morning statement.

“Finally, the island is connected to the mainland of Canada from two directions, completing the energy grid loop from coast to coast for the first time in history. I was particularly proud of the entire team at Nalcor Energy who has spent many years working towards this tremendous accomplishment.”

For her part, Coady called the project anything but an accomplishment, rather “a project that was based on flawed assumptions and dreams of glory.”

“Instead of delivering a plan to replace Holyrood, they built a project that didn’t match the needs of consumers of the province. Along the way, they dismissed concerns and warnings from experts such as SNC Lavalin,” wrote Coady.

“Mr. Martin and the former government knew that this would mean higher electrical rates. They weren’t concerned then and they don’t seem concerned now; yet it will impact many residents in this province — seniors, young families, young people — for generations to come.”

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In his statement, Martin said he could attest to the level of commitment, expertise and passion throughout Nalcor.

“This milestone will have a meaningful impact on citizens from improved reliability to the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions from the Holyrood plant,” he wrote.

Martin said the vision of providing dual access into Eastern North America is a remarkable achievement and the province can now sell excess energy.

“I was also heartened to hear my successor acknowledge that the Muskrat Falls project is indeed a good project over the long term,” Martin stated.

“Indeed, he also recognized that eventually the people of this province will pay some of the lowest electricity rates in the country. I said throughout my tenure at Nalcor that this project was never about the short term.

“It was never meant to cure-all of the problems or create a huge cash flow in a year, five years or even 10 years. Muskrat Falls was always a generational strategy with goals of becoming energy self-sufficient as a province, gaining access to lucrative North American markets, positioning us for the future.

“…This includes Muskrat Falls, the Upper Churchill when we regain control in 2041, and the incredible riches in offshore oil.

“Yesterday’s linking of Labrador to the island with energy finally flowing through those extraordinary transmission lines, was a massive and exciting step on that journey.”

In contrast, Coady said the current government is concerned for the people of the province and are “working hard to manage the cost of electricity.”

“As a member of the team working to fix this project, we are doing what we can to manage rates for the future and to maintain the standard of living that people in this province deserve. It’s too bad the former government and Ed Martin had not made the same considerations.”

Coady went on to say Martin and the former government “are trying to rewrite history and save their legacy.”

“The people of this province know the mess they left for generations of people in this province to clean up.”

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