Tausi Insider

Emera Inc. EMA-T is putting capital spending on clean energy projects in Nova Scotia on hold as it works through the consequences of the Nova Scotia government’s imposed rate cap on the parent company of Nova Scotia Power. In a conference call to discuss the power utility’s latest financial results, Emera chief executive Scott Balfour said Friday that while the company will continue to make investments in safety and reliability of its network, it won’t be able to spend on other projects in the province due to the cap. “The last capital plan included $500-million in planned investment in the Eastern Clean Energy Initiative, including the Atlantic Loop, to fund new wind generation, transmission, infrastructure upgrades and battery storage to help facilitate the transition away from coal-fired generation,” he said. “Given the restrictions imposed by Bill 212, these cleaner energy investments have been forced to be put on hold as our capital investments at Nova Scotia Power are now requi...

An affordable energy advocate says the imposition of consumer carbon pricing in Nova Scotia is a good idea, but adds that rising energy costs continue to pose problems for people with lower incomes. Brian Gifford, chair of the Affordable Energy Coalition of Nova Scotia, believes most people will be helped by the federal government’s plan to provide quarterly rebates to offset carbon pricing costs, beginning in July. The rebates will see households in Nova Scotia get $248 with every payment, while those in the other two provinces where carbon pricing was imposed on Tuesday – Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island – will see rebates of $328 and $240 respectively. But Gifford said even more help will likely be needed. “In this time of high oil prices, especially, and rising electricity rates, there is still going to be a problem for people,” Gifford said in an interview Wednesday. The carbon price is expected to add an initial 17.4 cents per litre to the cost of heating oil....

Alberta's oil-dominated economy is used to boom-and-bust cycles, but as global demand for oil is once again rising higher energy revenues are not translating into a sustained economic boom for the province. Craig Glover/cglover@craigglover.com Glen Hodgson is a senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute. Charles St-Arnaud is chief economist at Alberta Central. Alberta has earned a reputation over many decades for being a boom-bust economy. Strong oil demand and high prices have created boom times for jobs, incomes, investment and government revenues, while weak demand and falling prices have meant a slowdown or even recession on occasion. But now, global demand for oil is again rising and prices are high, yet more oil-production revenue is not translating into a sustained economic boom for Alberta. The province’s economy grew by 4.8 per cent in real terms (with inflation removed) in 2021. A budget surplus has financed or paid for Premier Danielle Smith’s latest inflation-relief han...

A Quebec Innu community is suing Hydro-Quebec for $2.2-billion, claiming the Churchill Falls hydroelectric station has destroyed a significant part of their traditional territory. The lawsuit filed Friday in Quebec Superior Court by the Innu of Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam claims the megaproject’s reservoirs and more than 1,000 kilometres of transmission lines “flooded and destroyed” part of their traditional territory and disrupted the community’s traditional activities. The band council says construction of the 5,428-megawatt station in Labrador and its transmission facilities in the 1960s and early 1970swas done without the consent of the community near Sept-Iles, Que. A 1969 agreement that allows Hydro-Quebec to purchase the majority of the electricity generated at the station and reap most of the profits ends in 2041. The community is asking the court to recognize its Aboriginal title to the affected territory and wants an injunction to prohibit the Crown corporation from making any n...