CARLA BECK’S TEAM MAKES LAST PLEA TO RATE REVIEW PANEL AS SCOTT MOE MOVES TO DOUBLE POWER RATES

Sask. Party Has Already Slapped $136 Million More On Families, Farms & Small Businesses Without Consultation And After Insisting No Rate Hike Was Coming

REGINA – Carla Beck’s team has made a submission to the independent Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel (SRRP) of evidence deliberately withheld by Scott Moe and the Sask. Party as they attempt to ram through the first of what will be many hikes to power bills paid by Saskatchewan families, farms and small businesses.

Also contained in the submission today from Jobs, Economy & SaskPower Shadow Minister Aleana Young are Hansard submissions where the government contradicted its own claims as well as independent modelling that shows Moe’s power plan is the most expensive and will double rates.

Earlier this week, Young called for the consultation being conducted on a $136-million dollar rate hike by the SRRP to be scrapped and restarted after a series of leaks proved the Sask. Party’s real plan is to spend a whopping $26 billion on a catastrophic plan refurbish coal plants, a move that was dubbed “extreme” by SaskPower officials, that will double power rates for everyday Saskatchewan people and force the cancellation of renewable energy projects.

“Scott Moe’s real power plan wasn’t disclosed to the public when he slapped the first-rate hike on families, farms and small businesses two days into the new year,” Young said Friday. “This was a cover up, and we all know why: because if the Saskatchewan people knew just how much Scott Moe was going to make them pay, they would have told him to toss his power plan where it belongs, in the trash.”

The Rate Review Panel only makes recommendations — and Moe’s own Minister Jeremy Harrison has hedged when asked previously if he would reverse the hike if the SRRP ruled against it.

“After 20 years of the Sask. Party, these guys no longer think they’re accountable to the very people that elected them — if they ever did,” Young said. “We have heard from so many people who are struggling to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, keep their trucks filled with gas. Industry has warned that investment is fleeing.

“And Scott Moe’s answer? I’m going to double your power bills. It’s shortsighted, it’s arrogant and it’s the most telling evidence yet of a government that has got to go.

“It’s time to make life more affordable for Saskatchewan people. It’s time for change.”

Among the items in Young’s submission to the RRP are:

• An internal SaskPower slideshow leaked to Carla Beck’s team that make it clear the true cost of Moe’s power plan is $26 billion
• An internal SaskPower briefing note leaked to Beck’s team where officials identify risks, and describe Moe’s power plan as extreme, state it could increase power rates by 95 per cent and force the cancellation of renewables projects
• Independent modelling conducted by the Energy Super Modelers and International Analysts (ESMIA) — a firm used by the Doug Ford Ontario Government, the federal government, and the United Nations — that shows Scott Moe’s power plan is the most expensive.
• Documents underscoring the politicization of SaskPower including written answers claiming no infrastructure deficit exists, forward-looking business plans are still in development.
• Hansard submissions in which the government contradicts its own claims about the existence of a carbon tax.
• Carla Beck’s Grid and Growth Plan, which offers a different path to affordable, reliable, and flexible power.

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