Saskatchewan eyes extension for coal power plants

Premier Scott Moe has directed the province’s Crown corporation, SaskPower, to prioritize 'reliable' and 'affordable' electricity for residents.

Saskatchewan intends to operate existing coal-fired power plants longer than expected, defying a federal order.

Premier Scott Moe has directed the province’s Crown corporation, SaskPower, to prioritize  “reliable” and “affordable” electricity for residents, reported the Epoch Times.

“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,” he said in a social media post.

To keep electricity affordable for residents, the province earlier said it would operate three coal plants beyond 2030 until the early 2040s. The natural gas plants currently in operation will remain in use until the end of its lifespan.

Provinces must either decommission their coal power plants, transition them to natural gas, or outfit them with carbon-capture systems by 2030. Defying the federal framework constitutes a Criminal Code violation.

However, the government plans to stay the course, boosting electricity generation that keeps pace with its economic and population growth.

“We reserve the right provincially to choose how we will produce that power, whether natural gas or coal-fired,” said Moe, who later invoked the Saskatchewan First Act to counter federal overreach. 

The first set of regulations came during the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2012, requiring coal power plants to be phased out by 2061. The Liberal government expedited the timeline to 2030, while also banning new coal plants.

It argues that burning coal is the “single largest contributor to climate change” and a major source of pollution, though it quietly quadrupled coal exports since 2021.

“Canada has shown leadership,” a federal memo claimed, without mentioning the exports. Cabinet confirmed last January 31st that coal exports rose 50% to 8.23 million tonnes.

“Eliminating coal-fired power and replacing it with cleaner sources is an essential part of the transition to a low carbon economy, and as a result, building new thermal coal mines for energy production is not sustainable,” Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said that year.

Cabinet earlier proposed a ban on coal-fired power plants by 2030 through clean-electricity regulations that are before the courts. 

“We want to have [a] net zero, carbon neutral grid,” said Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, who threatened to criminally sanction Saskatchewan should they refuse to abide by the regulations.

Premier Moe has repeatedly dismissed the target as “unrealistic” and “unaffordable,” though he could face $1 million fines per day and three years of imprisonment for contravening the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

The province has also stopped collecting the carbon tax on home heating over unfair reprieve granted to the Maritimes.

Premier Moe appeared unbothered by the subsequent CRA audit. “We don’t believe there’s any dollars that are owed,” he said. Minister Guilbeault forewarned decisive action, though nothing has yet happened.

The CRA then issued a June 25th payment notice, claiming Saskatchewan owes $55,592,632 in carbon taxes plus $237,140 interest. The province sought a court order.

A recent Leger poll showed that 57% of Canadians want the carbon tax removed from residential home heating bills.

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COMMENTS

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  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2025-01-28 20:08:17 -0500
    Saskatchewan must stay the course and keep using coal. It’s cheap and we have the tools to scrub its emissions. Don’t go the way the Alberta NDP did and scuttle such a valuable fuel source. Let those easterners fool around with erratic power sources like wind and solar. Those bozos are so stupid that they’d insist on Saskatchewan and Alberta use tidal power.