The Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation, also known as CF(L)Co or CFLco is a Canadian electric company. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

. Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation Limited operates as a subsidiary of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro.

History

CF(L)Co was originally formed in 1958 as a subsidiary of

British Newfoundland Development Corporation {{Infobox company , name = BRINCO , logo = , logo_size = , image = , image_caption = , trading_name = British Newfoundland Development Corporation , native_name = , native_name_lang = ...

(BRINCO) and known as the Hamilton Falls Power Corporation, it built and operated the Churchill Falls

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

complex. In 1961, the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

granted the Hamilton Falls Power Corporation a 99-year lease to the 67,340 square kilometers

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of the Upper Churchill. The Hamilton Falls Power Corporation became known as the Churchill Falls Corporation in 1965 when the name of the falls was changed to commemorate former British Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. CF(L)Co began construction on Churchill Falls Generating Station in 1966 and on May 12, 1969, signed a power contract with

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec is a public utility that manages the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the Canadian province of Quebec, as well as the export of power to portions of the Northeast United States. It was established by the ...

. The agreement committed Hydro-Québec to buy most of the plant's output at one-quarter of a cent per kilowatt-hour — the exact rate is 0.25425¢ per kilowatt-hour until 2016 and 0.20¢ for the last 25 years of the contract —, to build and maintain power lines to carry the power to market and to enter into a risk-sharing agreement whereas the

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

would cover part of the interest risk and buy some of BRINCO's debt, in exchange for an increased share in CF(L)Co. The 5,428-megawatt generating station delivered its first kilowatt hours on December 6, 1971 and its 11 turbines were fully operational by June 1974. In 1974 the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador purchased a controlling interest in CF(L)Co from BRINCO and turned it over to the

Newfoundland and Labrador Power Commission Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro (NL Hydro), commonly known as Hydro, is a provincial Crown corporation that generates and delivers electricity for Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as portions of Quebec and the north-eastern areas of the United ...

. The Commission had a 65.8% share in the corporation and the remaining 34.2% was owned by

Legal battle

In 1967, the year CF(L)Co qualified for Crown Corporation status, the Newfoundland Government initiated proceedings in the Newfoundland Supreme Court to recall 800 megawatts (MW) of the Churchill Falls power from CF(L)Co based upon the lease granted to the corporation in 1961. By 1980, the case had not been resolved, and in that year the Newfoundland Legislature passed the Re Upper Churchill Water Rights Reversion Act to reclaim the water rights granted to the corporation. Both legislations and the contract itself were subject to protracted legal battles between the two neighboring provinces, ending up before the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

. The court declared the Upper Churchill Water Rights Reversion Act '' ultra vires'' in 1984, and twice affirmed the validity of the 1969 contract in 1988..

External links

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro websiteNalcor Energy website

References

{{reflist, 2 Churchill Falls Electric power companies of Canada Crown corporations of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydroelectric power companies of Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro Companies based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro-Québec

History

Legal battle

External links

See also

References