Dustin Duncan, minister responsible for SaskPower, says he 'will not risk the affordability and reliability of Saskatchewan's power grid to attempt the impossible based on an arbitrary federal emissions target and timeline.' (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

By CKOM News Staff

‘Unaffordable, unconstitutional, unattainable:’ Sask. slams proposed power regulations

Nov 21, 2023 | 11:12 AM

The federal government’s proposed Clean Electricity Regulations are getting a big stamp of disapproval from the Government of Saskatchewan.

According to the province, the proposed regulations “impose a net-zero electricity grid across Canada by 2035.”

A statement from the federal government said the proposed regulations “would set performance standards that would ensure that the sector achieves significant transformation by 2035, so that a robust foundation of clean electricity is available to power the electric technologies (e.g. electric transportation) needed to support Canada’s transition to a net-zero GHG emissions economy by 2050.”

Urging Ottawa not to proceed with the regulations, Dustin Duncan — the minister responsible for SaskPower — called the proposed rules “unaffordable, unconstitutional, and technologically and logistically unattainable.”

According to the province, SaskPower has estimated that electricity rates would need to “more than double by 2035” to make up the costs associated with the clean electricity regulations and federal rules around coal use. All told, Ottawa’s net-zero power plan is expected to cost the province around $40 billion between now and 2035.

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To comply with the proposed rules, the province said SaskPower would have to “expand, replace and rebuild more than 100 per cent of its current power generating capacity” in just 11 years, while also making significant investments into its transmission network.

“The proposed Clean Electricity Regulations will jeopardize the reliability of Saskatchewan’s power grid, and increase power rates to an unaffordable level,” Duncan said in a statement Tuesday.

The provincial government noted it has already “invested billions of dollars in its transition to a net-zero future,” but doesn’t have a non-emitting source of baseload power available in the short term.

In the longer term, the government noted that Saskatchewan is making investments into the development of clean technologies including small modular reactors, carbon capture on natural gas and long-duration “utility-scale energy storage” as part of the provincial plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

“While technical solutions are gradually developing, we must plan now to power the next decade of growth with the foundation of reliable baseload electricity,” Duncan added.

“Our government will not risk the affordability and reliability of Saskatchewan’s power grid to attempt the impossible based on an arbitrary federal emissions target and timeline. We call on the federal government to acknowledge and accept Saskatchewan’s plan to build and protect our economy while ensuring the continued viability of our power system and publicly-owned Crown utility for generations to come.”

The provincial government outlined its concerns over the regulations in a letter to Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s environment minister, dated Nov. 2.