Leaked documents spark debate over true cost of restoring Saskatchewan coal plants - BERITAJA

On Wednesday, the NDP presented leaked Powerpoint slides showing estimated costs for refurbishing Saskatchewan’s coal power plants that were about 10 times higher than the government’s stated figure.

According to Minister of Crown Investments Corporation Jeremy Harrison, the slides were from a position to the SaskPower Board during the outpouring of 2025.

On Thursday, the authorities fired back, saying that the figures successful the slides included various different costs and stretched complete a play of 25 years. Harrison adamantly maintained that their fig of $2.6 cardinal superior finance was correct, and SaskPower vice-president Gregg Milbrandt backed him up.

In the legislature, the NDP and the state went backmost and distant each day, accusing each different of financial mismanagement, twisting the numbers, misrepresenting the truth, and outright dishonesty.

The existent costs of restoring the province’s coal-fired powerfulness plants remains a taxable of basking debate. The number will alteration depending connected whether operating costs, substance costs, and others are included aliases excluded.

One point that is certain, however, is that the authorities remains committed to their scheme to tally coal-fired powerfulness plants good into the future, contempt national regulations that require ember plants to beryllium phased retired by 2029.

“Those are unconstitutional,” said Harrison  “We’re going to proceed to tally our ember plants past 2029, and we person been very unfastened and transparent about that.”

The authorities has said that they scheme to usage coal-fired powerfulness arsenic a span to atomic powerfulness down the line.