“We will send orders through the Head,” estimated the CEO of Hydro-Quebec

The New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) project allows Quebec to provide 9.45 terawatt-hours of electricity per year to Massachusetts. Opponents won a referendum in Maine on Tuesday.

In an interview with Radio-Canada, the president and CEO of the state corporation became angry and quarreled while commenting on the vote results. According to Sophie Broch, Hydro-Quebec has the right to continue the project since its acquisition All state and federal permits are required In this file.

So all we were going to do was have our American partner [Central Maine Power, NDLR] Achieves his rights. When the game is over, the world is outside the stadium and we want to change the score of the game of hockey. [qu’on décide de] Add period, She was angry.

The CEO of a state-owned company says that the defeat in the referendum was due to the huge allocation of funds for the campaign of the opposition. Tens and tens of millions Companies that generate electricity from fossil fuels to protect their interests.

There we will send orders through the Head over the next few weeks and months. […] This project is, in particular, a game of snakes and ladders. This project will be built.

A defective process

Sophie Brochu will also compete in the referendum process underway in Maine, which will allow groups of citizens to submit a bill if they collect 60,000 signatures in support of their initiative. Gold, There is no one who sees the legitimacy of the submitted bill, She argues.

The fact is that companies that generate electricity from fossil fuels do not want Hydro-Quebec to win the call for these tenders. [au Massachussetts] And we will build this project, which will not necessarily replace clean and high cost electricity, She says.

So they financed the rivals Knock on doors And Collect signatures So that the citizens’ bill can be introduced. They We made a soup, there was soup in front of us, it was served; Now we don’t have to eat, Emphasized Mrs. Brochu.

The project, which has its permissions, exists, is under construction. So we can not say that the project does not exist! […] We can make all the bills we want, it does not change the reality. It still has an investment of $ 400 to $ 500 million.

According to the CEO of Hydro-Quebec, the NECEC project, One of the largest decarbonization projects in North America, With the support of Maine Governor Janet Mills, Biden Administration Energy Secretary Jennifer Granhome‌, and industrial consumers in Maine and much of the New England population, she said.

Endless opposition

Sophie Broch also predicted that the fossil fuel companies that supported the opposition would continue to attack relentlessly even after the project was implemented. Before this situation, You have to be calm, you have to be determined, She pleads.

Voters exercised their right in Maine yesterday. They have every right to do what they do. But when we know [ce qui se trame en arrière], We also understand what the main motivations are. We and our American partner did everything in good faith to get the permits. Everything is legal and we have the right to emphasize them.

Ms. Brochu predicts that other oil and gas companies will try to keep a spokesman on the hydro-Quebec wheels. Crown Corporation just won a collection deal with New York City.

So what should we do? We stand on our knees and say: Shall we leave it? No. We are in the middle of COP week. The world needs decarbonization projects and Hydro-Quebec provides clean, renewable, competitive electricity, She pleads.

Quebec is in line with its Crown Corporation

Quebec’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Julian, addressed a press briefing at the National Assembly. Brochu’s comments were immediately echoed. He said that Quebec, the sole shareholder of Hydro-Quebec, would study all its legal possibilities in this regard.

The project, of course, must move forward, because we have all the powers to do so and we want to pursue it fully.

Referendum a Legal gesture, He admitted, but was the opposite The commitment we made, the investments we made over $ 400 million, [avec] 200 km in 235 km trials.

From Glasgow, Scotland, where he participates in COP26, the Quebec Premier has previously ruled carefully. We know the referendum will be tough, in fact we have Plan B, He said, Charlie Baker, Governor of Massachusetts, The agreement was confirmed to be in force.

We see different scenery with Hydro-Quebec and Massachusetts […] You can take different routes to get to Massachusetts and there are also different routes. […] Unfortunately, I can not say more details.

But according to Minister Julian, there is no question of going the other way. Plan B definitely has these options at the end of the day. [qui nous permettent] To say: We feel we are in a legally correct position because we have not neglected any authority, He clarified.

More details are yet to come.