Natural Resources Minister Jerome Kennedy laid out legislation today that will rewrite the rules for Labrador industrial electricity customers.
The legislative changes will drastically increase the amount of money that is charged for electricity.
Currently due to an old contract that expires in 2015, industrial customers pay 0.6 cents per kilowatt hour.
The legislation will largely exclude the Public Utilities Board from rate setting in Labrador industrial situations.
Officials said this policy will not affect residential or commercial rates in Labrador.
At its core, Kennedy said the goal is to increase industrial rates - Labrador currently has the lowest rates in the country - but still keep the Labrador rate lower than the competition across the border in Quebec.
Thank your for your comment. Sure, as a ratepayer, you don't care if I move my business, but that is probably because you are not one of my employees. But if you were, you might be okay with the rate increase it i meant you would keep your job. In any case, I will do what is best for me, because it is my right to do so. But guess what? I also don't care about my business leaving. If throwing a few hundred people out of work will allow me to save money in energy cost, then that is something that I will do. Not because I hate my workers, but rather they because my workers are not family and are therefore low on my list of priorities. I certainly wish my workers, but if throwing them out of work to save money on energy costs will allow my family to have more, then I have a duty to do so. Lastly, if and when I leave, I will not clean up anything that the does not say I have to. And maybe the door WILL hit me on the way out, but there will certainly be another jurisdiction that will open the door for me. They won't do so because I am special or because I am a nice guy....they will do so because I will be bringing jobs that used to be somewhere else.