RIGHT-LEANING INSTITUTE PUTS COST OF SCOTT MOE’S COAL CATASTROPHE AT STAGGERING $46 BILLION

The Price Tag Keeps Going Up & The Sask. Party Keeps Hiding Information From Saskatchewan People
REGINA – A new report published by the right-leaning C.D. Howe Institute puts the true cost of Scott Moe’s catastrophic coal plan at a jaw-dropping $50 billion, a figure nearly double SaskPower’s already eyepopping cost estimate and one that will surely force everyday Saskatchewan people to pay three, even four times more for power.

"The Sask. Party’s continued defense of its coal ‘plan’ defies rational explanation,” said Aleana Young, Shadow Minister for Jobs, Economy & SaskPower. “This gamble started at $900 million, then ballooned to $2.6 billion, then $26 billion, and now independent analysis suggests it could cost as much as $46 billion. Saskatchewan has never seen such a recklessly expensive pet project."

The report from C.D. Howe Institute concludes Saskatchewan's strategy of extending coal-fired generation as a bridge to nuclear could cost up to $50 billion if industrial carbon pricing returns. For months and months, the Sask. Party has gone to great lengths to hide documents, ignore submissions from industry, business, and agricultural groups concerned about paying sky-high power rates, and ridiculed journalists when grilled about the catastrophic plan.

At no point has SaskPower or the Government of Saskatchewan publicly released a transparent economic case for this strategy. Instead, Carla Beck’s team has received thousands of fully redacted pages, and a ransom note of $8,000 for independent reports analyzing the coal plan. The only reason the original $26-billion coal plan became public was through the courage of SaskPower employees who leaked internal documents because they were deeply concerned about Saskatchewan’s future.

“Seventy days after those first leaked documents became public, Saskatchewan still hasn't seen a business case for the Sask. Party's coal plan," Young said. "Instead, we've seen thousands of pages of redactions, the breaking of FOI laws, refusals to release engineering reports unless the public pays thousands of dollars, and Saskatchewan people learning the truth one leak at a time.

"Enough. Saskatchewan deserves an energy strategy grounded in evidence, not ideology. It's time to abandon this $46-billion coal catastrophe and build an affordable, reliable, and flexible electricity future."

Carla Beck’s team has released a Grid & Growth Plan that will keep rates more affordable, spur a massive investment in renewable energy and generate over $33 billion in economic activity. All Saskatchewan people are welcome to review the plan at GridandGrowth.ca.

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