SaskPower coal refurbishment plan sparks heated debate as legislative session concludes

Debate over the province's coal refurbishment reached a fever pitch as the spring sitting of the legislature came to an end. Wayne Mantyka reports.

The future of power generation in Saskatchewan became a major point of debate on the final day of the spring legislative sitting, as the province defended plans to refurbish aging coal-fired power plants while the opposition questioned the cost and transparency of the strategy.

SaskPower says its coal-fired generating stations are nearing the end of their lifespan, but replacing them with nuclear power will take years. In the meantime, the Crown corporation plans to refurbish coal plants in Estevan and Coronach to help bridge the gap.

Carla Beck criticized the government’s handling of the plan, accusing it of lacking accountability and transparency.

“No accountability from a government that reeks of arrogance and entitlement. Now we only know the real cost of this coal plan because some brave people at SaskPower leaked them to us,” Beck said.

Premier Scott Moe defended the decision, saying coal remains the most affordable and reliable option for Saskatchewan families while the province works toward nuclear generation.

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SaskPower estimates refurbishing the coal plants will cost about $2.6 billion. The utility says converting those facilities to natural gas would cost a similar amount, but building entirely new natural gas plants with equivalent output would be significantly more expensive.

The corporation also argues Saskatchewan has an abundant local coal supply, while roughly 90 per cent of the natural gas needed for large-scale generation would have to be imported.

SaskPower president and CEO Rupen Pandya said comparisons being used by the opposition are misleading because they include decades of operating expenses.

“On the question of the cost of coal refurbishment, the reporting costs are that $2.6 billion is the estimated value of refurbishing 1,500 megawatts of coal and if you look at an equivalent with respect to a compliant cap pathway with respect to natural gas, the number is $21 billion,” Pandya explained.

The NDP says it plans to continue raising concerns about the project throughout the summer, while the government says it will focus on explaining the differences between the competing cost estimates.