Leaked documents spark debate over true cost of restoring Saskatchewan coal plants

On Wednesday, the NDP presented leaked Powerpoint slides showing estimated costs for refurbishing Saskatchewan’s coal power plants that were nearly 10 times higher than the government’s stated figure.

According to Minister of Crown Investments Corporation Jeremy Harrison, the slides were from a presentation to the SaskPower Board during the spring of 2025.

On Thursday, the government fired back, saying that the figures in the slides included various other costs and stretched over a period of 25 years. Harrison adamantly maintained that their figure of $2.6 billion capital investment was correct, and SaskPower vice-president Gregg Milbrandt backed him up.

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In the legislature, the NDP and the province went back and forth all day, accusing each other of financial mismanagement, twisting the numbers, misrepresenting the truth, and outright dishonesty.

The true cost of restoring the province’s coal-fired power plants remains a topic of hot debate. The number will vary depending on whether operating costs, fuel costs, and others are included or excluded.

One thing that is certain, however, is that the government remains committed to their plan to run coal-fired power plants well into the future, despite federal regulations that require coal plants to be phased out by 2029.

“Those are unconstitutional,” said Harrison  “We’re going to continue to run our coal plants past 2029, and we have been very open and transparent about that.”

The government has said that they plan to use coal-fired power as a bridge to nuclear power down the line.

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