<div><p>World leader Hydro-Quebec bought a local rival Thursday for 4.7 billion Canadian dollars (4.4 billion dollars) in a further sign of consolidation in the North American power grid.</p><p>Under a deal to be finalized next year, Hydro-Quebec will acquire most of New Brunswick Power's assets, including generation facilities, transmission lines and a new entry point into the American market via the US state of Maine.</p><p>It will also offer New Brunswick Power's more than 370,000 existing customers electricity discounts worth about five billion Canadian dollars (4.7 billion US) over five years.</p><p>The closing date for the transaction is March 31, 2010.</p><p>"This agreement creates an unprecedented energy partnership in Canada," Quebec premier Jean Charest told a press conference.</p><p>"Over the medium term, our partners will benefit from a clean energy supply that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in eastern Canada," he said.</p><p>"It will also provide Quebec with a strategic geographic position with regards to the markets of Atlantic Canada and New England" and "in the northeast region of North America."</p><p>New Brunswick residents, meanwhile, will benefit from "much lower" electricity rates under the terms of the deal and the province will see the utility's "massive debt" of 4.75 billion Canadian dollars eliminated, said New Brunswick premier Shawn Graham.</p><p>During the upcoming legislative session, New Brunswick will present regulatory reforms to harmonize its rules with Quebec, he added.</p><p>Hydro-Quebec just completed a major transmission line to neighboring Ontario province, and is planning several major power generation projects to expand its hydroelectric capacity.</p><p>In the coming years, the merged utility will build new energy infrastructure in New Brunswick "to serve local and northeastern North America regional markets in synergy with Hydro-Quebec's pool of assets and markets," said a joint statement.</p><p>Jean Charest said Hydro-Quebec was in talks with US authorities to build a new 1,200 megawatt transmission line from Quebec to New Hampshire.</p><p>The Quebec utility currently supplies most of Vermont's and part of New York's respective power needs.</p><p>With this deal, it acquires seven hydroelectric power generating dams, three heavily-polluting coal and diesel burning plants that are to be shuttered in the coming years, and a nuclear power plant undergoing refurbishing by Atomic Energy Canada. It is scheduled to be back in operation in 2011.</p><p>According to reports, the Quebec utility has also approached Prince Edward Island to strike a similar utility takeover, and is said to be eyeing neighboring Nova Scotia Power.</p><p>This frantic activity comes as the United States is reportedly pressuring Canadian utilities to consolidate in order to better coordinate production and transmission of electricity in eastern North American.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=62239281&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2009  <a href="http://www.afp.com/english/links/?pid=copyright">AFP Global Edition</a></div></div>