"How is securing rights to a (finite) portion of the NTL transmission out of line with CUU securing shipping facilities at Stewart?"

Well, I could be wrong (and maybe a little harsh in my response) but I'd say that securing shipping facilities at Stewart was a proactive and necessary move. It wouldn't be smart to wait until whoever is doing the mining actually wants to shift ore before arranging that there's space in line for it. By doing so, CUU sent a message in general terms, too, that it means business. The power line, on the other hand, is still under construction, with the express intent of serving power to those companies in the region that will need it. The expectation is that in no more than a few months time (and perhaps less) Schaft Creek won't be CUU's responsibility. I'd have thought that Teck would look after that side of things. Teck or whomever.