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REGINA — New figures from Saskatchewan’s electrical utility show it would cost about $1 billion a year to extend the life of the province’s coal plants.
The numbers, released in a document leaked to the Opposition NDP on Wednesday, suggest it would cost SaskPower $26 billion over 25 years until the province transitions to nuclear energy.
The cost includes capital, operations, transmission and fuel, says the document.
Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck called the amount staggering and said the Saskatchewan Party government could do away with the coal extension for cheaper alternatives.
For the same amount of money, she said, Saskatchewan could build new natural gas plants or finance a small nuclear reactor.
“This is an amount greater than the entire budget of this province right now,” Beck said Thursday. “This is a measure that’s going to add $26 billion to an already quite sizable $43-billion debt.”
The province announced last year it was keeping coal until 2050, arguing the move ensures power remains reliable, secure and affordable. The plan also acts as a bridge to nuclear energy in the future, it said.
Saskatchewan is planning to build the province’s first small modular reactor in the 2030s, should it be approved.
Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for SaskPower, told reporters Thursday that it’s cheaper to extend the life of coal rather than build new gas plants.
He accused New Democrats of blowing the numbers out of proportion. He said capital costs to refurbish the coal plants are only $2.6 billion.
The additional costs would be incurred anyway, he said.
“The overall annualized costs for operations, maintenance, sustainment, salaries — all of that is publicly released,” Harrison said.
Aleana Young, the NDP critic for SaskPower, argued Harrison’s plan is still more expensive.
She cited her own $20-billion proposal to expand wind, solar and natural gas, while allowing existing coal plants to retire at their end of life.
“(The government’s plan) is $26 billion only for coal,” Young said.
Harrison has said the NDP’s plan unrealistically relies on wind and solar.
“Using coal, which we have in place right now, we have a multi-hundred-year supply within kilometres of our generation facilities. That’s what we’re prioritizing,” he said.
Saskatchewan signed an agreement with Ottawa that allows the province to continue burning coal at some power plants beyond 2030.
The SaskPower document says should Ottawa require Saskatchewan to shutter coal plants, that would pose a risk to the extension plan. The document also says industrial carbon pricing and clean electricity regulations may cause problems.
Harrison argued the coal and clean electricity regulations are unconstitutional.
“We’re going to continue to run our coal plants past 2029, and we have been very open and transparent about that.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2026.
Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press
