Sask. premier hopes for Ottawa collaboration on net-zero electricity plan

Saskatchewan’s premier is hoping the federal government is willing to collaborate on what Canada’s clean electricity standards will look like.

Ottawa released draft regulations on Thursday designed to clean Canada’s energy grid, with a target of getting to net-zero emissions by the year 2035.

The new standards will drive up the cost of energy to some degree, but according to government officials, those costs would be offset by savings by moving away from fossil fuels.

“Our nervousness around the clean electricity standards (is) that they will be very expensive,” Premier Scott Moe told Gormley on Thursday.

Moe said these agreements often involve ideological targets that are unattainable and not affordable — ultimately leading to money coming out of the pockets of Canadians.

Environment and Climate Change Canada estimates the national average household energy bill will jump from $35 to $61 per year if these standards come into effect, adding that only two per cent of that is because of the regulations.

Moe said Saskatchewan is already faced with inflationary and supply chain challenges. The new regulations could add to those over the next number of years.

However, the premier said the government is willing to use tools like The Saskatchewan First Act, which is designed to protect the provincial jurisdiction.

“Nowhere is that more paramount than the provincial jurisdiction to determine how we’re going to generate our electricity in an affordable, reliable way,” Moe said.

“In Saskatchewan’s case, as we look forward in the course of the next number of decades, we’re going to continue to reduce the emissions in our generation capacity.”

He added the provincial government wants to run out the lifecycle of current generation facilities to keep cost and energy rates affordable.

Moe said he expects the disagreement with the federal government and other provinces will be the timeline on how it’s achieved.

The final version of the clean electricity regulations is expected to be published in January of 2025.

— With files from The Canadian Press