Quebec and N.L. Hydro CEOs to meet in Churchill Falls on Monday
Michael Sabia and Jennifer Williams will tour hydro station and discuss Churchill Falls MOU
The top executives with government-owned utilities from Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador will meet in Churchill Falls on Monday as both sides work toward formalizing a historic new energy deal between the two provinces.
Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro CEO Jennifer Williams and Hydro-Québec CEO Michael Sabia will tour the company-owned town, and the massive Churchill Falls generating station. It will be Sabia's first visit to Churchill Falls.
The two executives will also discuss the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding, and the ambitious plan to formalize definitive agreements before the spring of 2026.
Williams and Sabia will also host a joint media availability by video conference.
The non-binding Churchill Falls MOU was announced in December, and aims to replace the lopsided and controversial 1969 Churchill Falls agreement, which expires in 2041. The existing agreement allows Hydro-Québec to purchase nearly all of the electricity from the station at .2 cents per kilowatt hour, which is practically free energy from a station with a capacity of more than 5,400 megawatts.
Under the new framework agreement, Newfoundland and Labrador will receive an average of $1 billion annually up to 2041, retroactive to 2024, and the stream of revenue will continue to escalate after that.
Premier Andrew Furey has said the new power contract and new developments on the river, including Gull Island, will inject an estimated $227 billion into the province's treasury over the next 50 to 60 years.
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