The economics of electric power: demand projections for Newfoundland

• Main Author: Poder, Peter
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1969
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/7291/; https://research.library.mun.ca/7291/1/Poder_Peter.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/7291/3/Poder_Peter.pdf

Power development is making news at the present time. Recently the generating capacity of the electric power industry in Newfoundland has been increasing quite rapidly due to the Bay d’Espoir Hydro project, and numerous other smaller power development projects. With the first phase of the Churchill Falls hydro electric development in 1972 nearing completion, the power generation potential of this province will again increase substantially. -- It seems appropriate at this time, in the midst of these power developments, to investigate the present position of Newfoundland as regards to electric poser, and to ascertain future requirements. In order for any planning in the electric power industry to be successful the future demand, as well as the supply, should be ascertained. The first step in planning, is one of the demand for power. The market must be analysed and the demand for power projected into the future. The controversy today is whether the future requirements for electric power in Newfoundland should be met by the transmission of power from Labrador (Churchill Falls) to Newfoundland, or whether the existing hydro and thermal plants should be supplemented by the construction of additional power projects on the Island. Before the decision can be made future power requirements should be estimated. If future demand is expected to increase rapidly then it may be more economical to transmit power from Labrador or even construct a nuclear plant on the Island of Newfoundland. However if the demand will only increase slightly such measures are not appropriate. -- The method of analysis employed in this thesis is the interindustry or input-output analysis. This method takes into account all the interindustry relationships and interdependencies. Instead of projecting power requirements by each sector of the economy and adding these together, we should take into account the whole interrelationships among the sectors of the economy, by means of the input-output table, to determine the ultimate demand.