ST. JOHN´S, N.L. The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies has raised a number of concerns in an analysis of the proposed sale of NB Power to Hydro Quebec.
The public-policy think tank´s study was done by Gordon Weil, a former energy director and public advocate for the state of Maine.
Weil says if the deal goes through Hydro Quebec will obtain, manage and control the transmission and distribution system, enhancing its ability to exploit its own generation resources.
He says that raises anti-competitive concerns for those outside the two provinces.
Weil says while NB Power customers would receive significant relief in their power rates in the initial five years of the deal, any additional benefits are considerably more speculative.
He concludes that the full impact of the deal will depend on a host of variables that are impossible to forecast with reasonable certainty.