ATLANTIC

Emera secures financing for Maritime Link with help from Ottawa

THE CANADIAN PRESS Published Thursday, April 24, 2014 11:17AM ADT

Muskrat Falls, on the Churchill River in Labrador, is shown in a Februrary 2011 file photo. (Paul Daly / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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HALIFAX - Nova Scotia utility company Emera (TSX:EMA) says it has secured $1.3 billion in financing to pay for the Maritime Link project to ship hydroelectricity from the Muskrat Falls development.

Emera CEO Chris Huskilson made the announcement today at a news conference, saying the deal was made possible by a federal loan guarantee that offered Emera a triple-A credit rating.

Huskilson says the federal government's guarantee will help reduce financing costs by $325 million over the life of the Maritime Link.

Construction has already started on the $1.5-billion project, which will include a 170-kilometre subsea cable that links Cape Breton with southwestern Newfoundland.

The cable will be used to give Emera subsidiary Nova Scotia Power access to electricity from the $7.7-billion Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project under construction in central Labrador.

Huskilson says he's not concerned by reports suggesting Muskrat Falls is over budget and behind schedule, adding that the link will give Nova Scotia Power access to an energy market beyond Newfoundland and Labrador.