BOARD REJECTS HYDRO-QUEBEC SALES TO NEW ENGLAND
Canada's National Energy Board has
denied an application by Quebec-owned Hydro-Quebec to export
about three billion Canadian dlrs worth of electricity to the
New England states, a board spokeswoman told Reuters.
    The decision is to be made public later today, chief
information officer Ann Sicotte said.
    Sicotte said the board rejected tha application after four
months of hearings because Hydro-Quebec did not offer the
electricity first to Canadian provinces and could not prove it
was surplus to Canadian needs.
    Sicotte said Hydro-Quebec can apply for a review of the
decision if there are new facts or changed circumstances, and
could also launch an appeal with the federal court or file a
new application.
    Hydro-Quebec spokesman Maurice Hebert said the utility had
not yet been officially notified and will have to study the
decision before deciding what action to take.
    The contract was a 10-year agreement with power exports
beginning in 1990. "They weren't able to demonstrate that the
electricity was surplus and one way to demonstrate that is by
offering it to neighboring provinces," Sicotte said.
    Hebert said the utility argued that it can generate  enough
electricity to supply its U.S. and Canadian customers.
    "Our position is that electricity is a manufactured
product--so everyboday can manufacture it and anybody can buy
some--if they (the provinces) want to buy some from us, we're
willing to discuss it," he said.
    The application is the first the National Energy Board has
rejected outright, Sicotte said.
    New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland had
opposed the contract at Energy Board hearings this spring.
 Reuter
