{"id":860260,"date":"2026-08-16T14:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T14:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/860260\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T14:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T14:58:10","slug":"wakeham-frechette-to-meet-in-st-johns-as-provinces-inch-toward-new-deal-on-churchill-falls-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/860260\/","title":{"rendered":"Wakeham, Fr\u00e9chette to meet in St. John’s as provinces inch toward new deal on Churchill Falls energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham and Quebec Premier Christine Fr\u00e9chette are meeting in St. John’s on Monday for what they are calling “an announcement regarding energy security and economic development.”<\/p>\n

Talks of a new deal on Churchill Falls energy have ramped up over the last week. Radio-Canada has confirmed Fr\u00e9chette\u00a0is heading to Newfoundland on Monday to sign an agreement. <\/p>\n

Wakeham’s office issued a news release shortly after 7:30 p.m. NT on Saturday confirming Fr\u00e9chette, along with Quebec’s Energy Minister Bernard Drainville and Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec’s president and chief executive officer Claudine Bouchard, will be in attendance on Monday.<\/p>\n

Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec issued its own news release on Sunday inviting reporters to a closed-door briefing on an announcement regarding Quebec\u2019s energy security on Monday at 11 a.m.. That meeting will be held with Dave Rh\u00e9aume, Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec’s executive vice-president of energy and regulatory strategy and industrial activities.<\/p>\n

Wakeham’s office had few other details to share, other than the announcement is happening at 1:45 p.m. NT in St. John’s. <\/p>\n

\"AQuebec Premier Christine Fr\u00e9chette and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham are making an energy announcement in St. John’s on Monday. (CBC)<\/p>\n

What’s known so far about the new deal \u2014 confirmed by sources with direct knowledge who are not authorized to speak publicly \u2014 is there’s a guaranteed transmission access of 985 megawatts through Quebec, meaning Newfoundland and Labrador can sell up to that amount to outside markets. <\/p>\n

And, as first reported by Radio-Canada, sources say each province will receive significantly more electricity than the previous memorandum of understanding stipulated \u2014 with nearly 40 per cent more for Quebec and between 25 per cent and 60 per cent more for N.L. <\/p>\n

Quebec could receive around 10,000 megawatts, while Newfoundland and Labrador could get at least 2,350 megawatts \u2014 possibly as much as 3,000.<\/p>\n

To reach that increase in electricity production, the two sides have agreed to develop an even more powerful hydroelectric facility at Gull Island and further increase the generating capacity of the turbines at the existing Churchill Falls plant.<\/p>\n

The new agreement also includes wind power, which was not part of the 2024 MOU signed by former Liberal premier Andrew Furey and former Quebec premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault.<\/p>\n

Download our\u00a0free CBC News app<\/a>\u00a0to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our\u00a0daily headlines newsletter here<\/a>. Click\u00a0here to visit our landing page<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708663,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[45,49,48,46],"class_list":["post-860260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}