N.B., Sask. premiers, Alberta minister blast regulator’s handling of Energy East
CALGARY — Canadian politicians whose jurisdictions could benefit from a proposed multibillion-dollar oil pipeline are accusing the country’s energy regulator of creating uncertainty about the future of the proposed project.
TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) put its application to build the $15.7-billion Energy East pipeline on hold this week after the National Energy Board said it would consider indirect greenhouse gas emissions in evaluating the 4,500-kilometre pipeline from Hardisty, Alta., to Saint John, N.B.
Alberta Energy Minister Margaret McCuaig-Boyd said having regulators consider so-called upstream and downstream emissions could cast a chill over the future of energy development.
“Deciding the merits of a pipeline on downstream emissions is like judging transmission lines based on how its electricity will be used,” she said in a statement Friday.