CARLA BECK’S TEAM CALLS FOR SASKPOWER RATE REVIEW TO BE SCRAPPED, RESTARTED AFTER $26-BILLION COAL REVELATIONS
Sask. Party Withheld Key Financial And Policy Information From Rate Review Panel
REGINA – Carla Beck’s team is calling on the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel to suspend and restart its review of SaskPower’s latest rate application after revelations that the government failed to disclose the true scope, risks, and future costs of its electricity plan.
The panel is scheduled to conclude public submissions this Friday. However, internal SaskPower documents obtained by Beck’s team reveal the government’s coal refurbishment plan carries an estimated lifetime cost of $26 billion — including fuel, transmission, capital, and compliance costs — none of which was meaningfully disclosed in the application currently before the Panel. The same materials reportedly characterized the coal pathway as carrying high and extreme financial, reliability, and regulatory risk.
“The public is being asked to comment on SaskPower’s future without being provided the actual plan,” said Aleana Young, Shadow Minister for Jobs, Economy & SaskPower. “This was not a transparent rate application. It was a politically calculated exercise designed to keep tens of billions of dollars and enormous long-term risks out of sight of families, farms, and businesses.”
Young wrote to Albert Johnson, the long-serving Chair of the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel, Tuesday requesting the process be suspended and recommending expanded public consultation.
The letter also raises concerns that SaskPower’s submissions failed to account for the return of Saskatchewan’s industrial carbon pricing regime despite public confirmation from Minister of Environment Darlene Rowden and Premier Scott Moe that the carbon tax remains and the Sask. Party is negotiating to make it permanent. Young noted the announcement appears to have emerged after SaskPower’s evidence was filed, to the surprise of SaskPower senior officials, and was absent from the utility’s analysis presented to the panel.
The submission further points to public comments from SaskPower CEO Rupen Pandya and raises concerns that Crown officials are being required to adhere to political directives from Premier Scott Moe and Minister Jeremy Harrison rather than work independently of political interference.
“The government continues to insist Saskatchewan has no option but to double down on mid-century coal rebuild because of a federal regulation that was never enforced, wasn’t enforceable, and is now effectively abandoned,” said Young. “Comparable jurisdictions across North America are not responding to regulatory uncertainty by locking themselves into high-cost unabated lignite coal generation with extreme financial and regulatory risks.”
Young also raised concerns that the government’s intimidation attempts with industrial stakeholders have had a chilling effect on further participation in the review process from businesses and investors.
“At minimum, Saskatchewan families, farms, small businesses, industry, and the Panel itself are entitled to a review grounded in the actual economics and risks facing SaskPower — not a partial disclosure exercise shaped around political convenience,” Young said.
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