The Duchess (Outsider #2)

Chapter 46: Roads & Cars

Governor Scarlet Lidwig announces Power Grid Scheme:

The Governor of Arcadia, Her Highness, Princess Scarlet Lidwig, announced this morning a new scheme for setting up Solar and Wind Power generation projects all over the Province. She announced that any citizen who is a resident of Arcadia can acquire land and set up Solar Power or Wind Power stations and connect them to the Arcadia Power Grid now being set up covering the entire Province.

Later in the day, the Provincial Finance Secretary announced that the Provincial Government would provide loans for those wanting to set up the power plants.

Power Deal with Olixer Kingdom and Thousand Nations:

The Arcadia Provincial Government has signed agreements with Olixer Kingdom as well as Thousand Nations to sell the power that will be generated in the new, privately owned power stations under the scheme announced a week earlier.

As the details of the rules for the Power Scheme emerge, it appears the Provincial Government will keep a 25% share of the power generated and sold through the grid. Considering that the power is expected to be generated from free resources of Solar and Wind energy, the proposal will still be very attractive to those setting up the plants.

The Governor later stated on social media that the money from the sale of power will initially be used to recover the cost of the power grid being built and thereafter be used solely for the benefit of the citizen and for strengthening the infrastructure in the Province. Considering the support being given by the Governor to the new power generation, the consensus is that the citizen will not mind the Provincial Government keeping a portion of the profits.

The Finance Secretary confirmed that the margin will not be charged for power sold directly to consumers without using the Provincial Power Grid. The grid is expected to be the largest power grid in the country other than the Imperial Grid.

Prairy and Norther Provinces approach Arcadia for Power:

The Governor of Northern Province and the Governor of the Prairy Province had sent their representatives to Bushrasais ensure that some of the new power is made available to industrial consumers in their own provinces.

With this new power source, Arcadia will swiftly climb up in importance among the Provinces.

Did Dusk Hale design the Power Grid Proposal?

There are speculations on whether the new Power Generation proposal was actually designed by Governor Scarlet Lidwig or Dusk Hale.

Neither the Governor nor Dusk Hale's office chose to comment on our questions. Dusk Hale's only reply on Social Media was, "Governor Scarlet is very proactive, and she has a lot of plans for the Province. I am proud that she is my Mentor. Neither of us will be selfish in grabbing credits. We believe in teamwork."

New Interstate Expressways to be built in 6 months:

The Arcadia Provincial Government announced it was calling for bids to construct a new Expressway connecting Hondor Province in the west to Regis and Ci'gazze in the East. The Expressway would be passing through Mortivue and Tarq before passing along the borders of Prairy and Vallecia to reach Regis. The Provincial Government of Hondor has agreed to extend the Expressways to the northern port which is major sources foreign trade.

Since the road will be along the borders, the approval has been granted by the Imperial Government and did not need to go to the Provincial Governments of Prairy and Vallecia. In any case, Prairy would not dare to object since they are requesting Arcadia to augment their power supply.