
Regina Leader-Post Staff
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says the government is looking at extending the lifespan of the province’s coal-fired power plants.
In a social media post Thursday, he said the province has directed SaskPower to keep affordability and reliability front and centre when it comes to managing the electricity grid.
“With these priorities in mind, we are closely considering extending the life of our existing coal-fired power plants to provide the affordable, baseload power our growing province requires over the next decade and beyond while we continue to work towards adding nuclear power,” the post said.
“Our decisions on the future of power generation will be based solely on what is best for Saskatchewan families and our economy, not unconstitutional federal regulations.”
The Saskatchewan government has been critical of the federal government’s Clean Electricity Regulations, which originally had a target date for a countrywide renewable energy grid of 2030, but was pushed to 2050 last month.
The province has said it will not comply with the regulations, but Minister Responsible for SaskPower Jeremy Harrison has said the government is still moving toward a 2050 target date with the possible deployment of small modular nuclear reactors and improved renewable power sources.