REGINA — The Opposition has released its Grid and Growth plan on Wednesday, outlining an approach to power generation in contrast to the government’s plans to extend the life of coal-fired plants in the province.
At a news conference Wednesday at the legislature, Opposition Leader Carla Beck and SaskPower critic Aleana Young announced the plan, which Beck described as “practical” and “grounded in evidence, not partisan self-interest and politics.”
In her preamble within the Grid and Growth Plan document, Beck stated the plan was focused on these principles:
- Lower costs for families and businesses
- A made-in-Saskatchewan approach that is self-sufficient, practical and flexible
- Transparency and independent regulatory oversight
- Proactive engagement with other levels of government and First Nations
- Collaboration with industry
In a news release, the NDP claimed its plan takes a “balanced approach” to power, investing in transmission, adding reliable natural gas, expanding wind, solar and battery storage in the near term, and positioning Saskatchewan to adopt nuclear as technology and costs evolve.
At their news conference, Beck said the plan will “generate more than $33 billion of economic activity” and keep “electricity rates significantly lower than the path that we are currently on.”
The NDP also criticized the Saskatchewan Party for “doubling down” (according to their news release) on extending aging coal plants to 2050.
Young pointed to modelling done by the same firm used by the Ford government in Ontario, saying it “found that Scott Moe's plan will, at a minimum, double electricity rates for households.”
“Despite all their talk about energy security, it increases reliance on imports from the United States at a time when the volatility south of the border is driving international markets and international politics into a state none of us have ever seen before. It adds on $25 to $35 billion of debt at SaskPower conservatively. And again, it weakens energy security for Saskatchewan. Because even after spending tens of billions of dollars, we will be relying on our neighbor to the south to keep the lights on. And if that wasn't bad enough, their plan, of course, also delivers the highest emissions. Higher cost, higher risk, worst outcomes for the environment all at the same time.
“This is the only province in the country that is not going to meet its commitments to phase out coal. In fact, they're rebuilding it to operate until 2050. They are choosing to do this while also admitting that they're going to be applying a carbon tax to unabated lignite coal generation, which is a decision that defies anything approaching strategy or fiscal management.”
Harrison blasts NDP approach
The Saskatchewan Party government had its own statement ready even before the NDP news conference.
Crown Investments Corporation Minister Jeremy Harrison called the NDP announcement “not a serious plan — and it’s exactly why the NDP are not taken seriously when it comes to managing Saskatchewan’s energy security.
“It does not include any actual costing, it is based on an unrealistic reliance on wind and solar, and most significantly for SaskPower households, it contains no commitment to keep the carbon tax off your power bills.”
Harrison said the government is taking an approach “grounded in reality and one that puts Saskatchewan residents first.” He said extending the life of existing coal-fired generation ensures reliability, avoids $21 billion in unnecessary capital costs, and provides a “stable bridge to the future, including nuclear generation powered by Saskatchewan uranium. Saskatchewan residents expect a power system that works. This plan does not.”
Harrison also criticized the NDP’s plans for wind and solar power, saying the plan would dismantle nearly one-third of the province’s baseload generation and “replace it with intermittent sources that simply cannot do the same job.”
“Wind and solar have a role, but they do not produce power on demand, and they cannot replace reliable baseload generation. Pretending otherwise is not leadership — it is willful disregard for how an electricity system actually works.”
Harrison said the NDP plan would put Saskatchewan “completely at the mercy of external jurisdictions to keep our grid functioning. That is not energy security — it is energy dependence.”
Harrison also said the NDP’s plan would mean the immediate loss of at least 1,400 jobs and the “devastation of two communities that rely on these facilities. Those are real people, real families, and real consequences — all ignored in favour of an ideological pursuit.”
He added that the plan “confirms what Saskatchewan people already know — the NDP remain unrequited in their commitment to bring back the federal carbon tax on SaskPower bills, driving costs even higher when families can least afford it.”
Harrison said that “no serious investor” would commit billions of dollars to a jurisdiction where power is unreliable and unaffordable.
“Projects like the proposed $12 billion Bell data centre depend on stable, dispatchable power,” Harrison said. “Under the NDP’s approach, those opportunities disappear — along with the jobs and growth they would bring.”
