Nalcor appeals Quebec court loss over Churchill Falls power contract

Nalcor is appealing a Quebec court decision limiting how much Churchill Falls power it can sell.

The dispute is over the interpretation of language in the renewal contract with Hydro Quebec that came into effect September 1. Nalcor believes Hydro Quebec is only entitled to a fixed block of power every month, leaving it free to sell any extra power at much higher rates than the Quebec utility is paying.

A Quebec court disagreed on August 8, siding with Hydro Quebec in the dispute. It ruled Nalcor is only entitled to 525 megawats of power that is mostly used in Labrador, and it has to deliver the rest of the power to Quebec whenever Hydro Quebec demands.

On Wednesday Nalcor announced it filed the appeal of that ruling with Quebec Court of Appeal.

Critics have argued the loss also cripples Nalcor's ability to coordinate power generation with Muskrat Falls downstream, something CEO Stan Marshall says is incorrect.

Marshall has said the loss is mostly a financial one for the crown energy corporation but wouldn't give a dollar value for the loss.

This court case is separate from a challenge to the fairness of the original 1969 contract which Marshall said will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada after lower courts upheld the existing contract that sees Hydro Quebec buy power at an extremely low rate, receiving most of the financial benefit from the Upper Churchill electric facility