N.L. Premier Danny Williams spoke to a group of investors in New York City Monday about the planned Lower Churchill hydroelectric development. (CBC)

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams took his pitch for the Lower Churchill hydroelectric development in Labrador to New York City on Monday.

The premier spoke at an event sponsored by the Canadian Consulate to promote the project to potential investors and customers.

But he spent part of his speech giving a history lesson of the province's dealings with Quebec over another hydroelectric development project, the Upper Churchill.

"Power which is sold by us to Hydro-Québec is flipped by them for 36 times what they pay for it," he told the investors group. "It seems unbelievable, but that's been our reality for years."

Williams was referring to the terms of the Upper Churchill deal, which was negotiated in the late 1960s and did not include escalator clauses. Hydro-Québec purchases hydroelectric power from Newfoundland and Labrador at cheap rates and can pocket profits on the resale of the energy to other markets.

The deal, which Newfoundland and Labrador says has cost it billions of dollars over the years, has been a political sore spot between the two provinces for more than three decades.

With a new dam being proposed on the Churchill River, Williams told the group, Quebec has been standing in the way of the development for three years, as the Newfoundland and Labrador government tries to negotiate better terms with Hydro-Québec to use its transmission lines to move power from the Lower Churchill into the New York market.

"We now have a situation where Hydro-Québec believes their current stranglehold is not quite strong enough."

Williams said that it's in the best interests of the United States to see that Quebec doesn't restrict the flow of energy.

"The state of New York has a direct interest. Market dominance by Hydro-Québec is bad for consumers. Simply put: We have the energy, you need the energy and we need to work together to face the unreasonable obstacles that we face together."

Williams later told reporters that his trip to New York was part of a long-term strategy for energy development in the province.

"In 2041, for example, Newfoundland and Labrador will repatriate the Upper Churchill. At that point in time, overall, we will be then producing gas. We will have significant wind energy, the Lower Churchill will have been underway for over 25 years. So, we'll be a major player in the northeastern United States. And that's not lost on the people of New York, I can tell you."