REGINA – The New Democrats ended the legislative session on the offensive over the issue of costs of extending coal powered generation to 2050.
At a news conference Thursday morning prior to the final sitting day of the session, Opposition Leader Carla Beck was calling for the firing of minister of Crown Investments Corporation Jeremy Harrison.
“This morning I've got a message directly for Scott Moe. You or your run-amok SaskPower Minister got caught. Got caught secretly planning to spend $26 billion in Saskatchewan people's money with no accountability,” said Beck.
Beck was pointing to SaskPower internal documents from the Audit and Finance Committee dated Nov. 5, 2025, that were released Wednesday by the NDP. Those documents outlined the 2026F Supply Plan, the transitional plan to extend the life of coal for 25 years.
In the document under the heading "financial impacts and key risks" it stated that projected the average cost of electricity to be 20 per cent higher in 2030 and 95 per cent higher in 2040.
“I want Scott Moe to know this,” Beck said. “If he plows ahead with this plan to double power rates in this province and drown us, our kids, frankly our grandkids in generational debt, our team is going to take his cover up to every doorstep, every barbecue, every event in every corner of this province. We will fight this cover up with every tool at our disposal. Because the future of this province is way too important.”
Beck added that if “these briefing notes have got it wrong, if these briefing notes to the board at Sask Power have got it wrong, then please, I would invite rhe Minister, if this was his plan all along, or as I said, the Premier, if this is his plan all along, come out and enlighten the people of this province. Because right now, all we see is cover-up and lies and spin and a total lack of accountability.”
In speaking to reporters Thursday morning after Beck's news conference, Premier Scott Moe dismissed calls for Harrison's removal, and also pushed back on Beck’s contention that rates would double.
“I don't believe that to be true. That is not the case,” said Moe.
But Moe did say that would happen if “we adopted the (Justin) Trudeau plan and there was no changes to the Clean Electricity Regulations. We actually feel there's a way to chart the path forward with the federal government.”
He said part of that path was announced that morning by Prime Minister Mark Carney, with ”the openness to have negotiations around and changes to the Clean Electricity Regulations that were introduced by Justin Trudeau a few years ago. That is changing.”
“So that doubling of the power rates that the NDP is referring to is false. That is not the case. That is not the plan forward, that's not the government's plan in any way. However, that would be the result or even higher should we adopt their Trudeau plan.”
Another point of contention that the NDP had pointed to in Sask Power’s Audit and Finance Committee documents was a warning of “extreme risk” in their supply plan to 2040. Moe maintained this referred to a regulatory risk.
“What is identified is extreme regulatory risk like the Justin Trudeau Clean Electricity Regulations,” Moe said.
“Those have changed as of a couple of hours ago, and this government has been part of those discussions with the federal government to precipitate some of those changes and some of that openness. And I would point to that document at a very high level this morning and there will be many negotiations on the details to happen in the days ahead.”
Pandya responds
Speaking to reporters at the Legislature, Sask Power CEO Rupen Pandya clarified a few items from the internal documents that were released.
He said 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 the equivalent with respect to a CER-compliant pathway with respect to natural gas, the number is $21 billion.”
The SaskPower CEO was referencing the NDP's proposal to go with natural gas during the transition to nuclear, as outlined in their Grid and Growth plan.
Pandya also said he appreciates that the documents released talked about other costs such as operating, maintenance, and fuel costs.
“I would note with respect to coal that those costs are already built in. We've been operating that coal fleet for 60 years in Saskatchewan. The cost of coal fuel, the cost of operation and maintenance are already built into the rate base in Saskatchewan. So I think that context is clearly important.”
Pandya also spoke of the Audit and Finance Committee risk analysis reference to “extreme risk" with respect to regulatory issues.
“And certainly with respect to the Clean Electricity Regulations and federal policy, that shouldn't be a surprise to anybody in this room. Since 2023, my Premier and I participated in a news conference in Saskatchewan where we talked about the significant challenge that a CER-compliant pathway would cause for Saskatchewan's power system.:We noted that the regulatory risks would be technologically, financially, and logistically impossible for us to achieve. And that because we had the largest compliance pathway of any power utility in the country, that we were seeking federal support on that pathway.
“I think this morning you will have maybe noted that the federal government has released a CER discussion paper, and I'm very optimistic about that paper. I've just had a chance to glance at it this morning. But it talks about how do we build sufficient system capacity in Canada to support future economic growth and prosperity. And part of that is to look at existing assets and to ensure that there are no stranded assets.”
Pandya added that the decision on coal is a “decision about using every single megawatt of power available to us, taking an all-of-the-above approach to power as part of the Saskatchewan First Energy Security Strategy.”
He added that it is “certainly the case” they will need to build up their power system beyond 1,500 megawatts of coal “as we use coal as a pathway to nuclear going forward. That will also mean the addition of other generating assets.”
The explanations from Pandya did not impress SaskPower critic Aleana Young.
“So we heard it again today directly from the CEO of Sask Power that the $26 billion coal figure is real, Young said.
“What we also heard loud and clear as the Premier and the Minister continue to hide behind everyone they can is that Sask Power did have a number of different scenarios that they looked at, that this briefing note is real, and that none of that other information has been or will be made available to the public. I've said it before and I've said it again, this is a coverup through and through. This is Premier Moe and Minister Harrison trying to hide the fact from Saskatchewan people that they have gambled $26 billion of their money and are trying to get away with it.”
