REGINA — Saskatchewan’s attorney general has again defended the province’s inability to comply with incoming electricity regulations after the federal environment minister accused Premier Scott Moe of making “irresponsible” comments.
Bronwyn Eyre said Wednesday that Steven Guilbeault is “wrong” about how clean electricity standards will affect utility rates in the province after Guilbeault said it is “unfounded and untrue” for Moe to say bills would rise dramatically.
“This is not about getting the word out or spinning our wheels here, this is about pointing out the cold, hard facts of the matter,” Eyre said in an interview.
“And it would be very helpful if Minister Guilbeault could respond with cold hard facts about how we are supposed to get to net zero and no fossil fuel generated electricity by 2035.”
Moe said this week that Saskatchewan may not follow incoming clean electricity standards, arguing that Ottawa’s plan to mandate net-zero power grids by 2035 would see bills triple or quadruple.
The prime minister also said that such regulations would “leave us frozen in the dark.”
Guilbeault responded Wednesday by suggesting that Moe is exaggerating the situation.
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He said Ottawa’s clean electricity standards focus on ensuring that the system can deliver power in an affordable and reliable manner.
“Fostering fear about the impact on rates is irresponsible, especially since the regulations have not even been developed,” he said in a statement. “Creating a cleaner power grid is about creating cleaner air and making sure that homes and businesses have access to affordable energy.”
The standards are currently under development, but would require power generation to be net zero by 2035, with conventional coal phased out by 2030.
The federal environment minister says Scott Moe promoting fears about the effect on tariffs is irresponsible because the regulations have not even been developed.
The standards would allow natural gas plants to continue operating after 2035 if they reduce emissions through carbon capture or co-firing with zero-emitting fuels.
Natural gas could also be used to provide backup power or in emergency situations.
However, Eyre noted that equipping current natural gas plants with carbon capture technology would be extremely expensive, especially within the next 12 years.
She said the president of SaskPower, the Crown utility responsible for electricity, has told the federal government that going to net zero by 2035 is not “technologically, logistically or financially feasible.”
“The president said that the technology required for such a radical transition either does not exist or has not been tested on a commercial scale,” Eyre said. “People have to understand this. And the federal government needs to stop suggesting these are test balloons or pie-in-the-sky talking points.”
SaskPower’s grid includes wind and solar power, but it predominantly uses natural gas and coal to produce electricity. Saskatchewan does not have much hydroelectric capacity.
The utility has long argued that it needs a baseload power source, such as natural gas or nuclear, to provide stable power. It has said it can meet net zero requirements by 2050.
However, Guilbeault said the technology has advanced “to the point where clean electricity projects are becoming cost competitive with fossil fuel alternatives.”
“This is about creating long-term quality jobs within a stronger economy, while reducing the pollution that causes climate change,” he said. “The bottom line is that our government is eager to work with Saskatchewan to create a network that supports jobs and keeps energy rates affordable for the long term.”
The federal minister said Ottawa is making available to companies, such as SaskPower, a 15 percent tax credit to spend on emission-free electricity generation.
SaskPower will also receive a refund of hundreds of millions of dollars it had paid in carbon taxes to the federal government. These dollars can be used on clean energy projects.
However, Eyre said the funds and tax credit have “conditions attached” that would require Saskatchewan to register to be net zero by 2035.
She said the province is not ready to do that yet.
“You can adhere to some abstract and impossible standard that is being imposed on us from above, or you can help the people of the province and we are going to choose the latter at this time,” he said.
Eyre said the province is considering using Saskatchewan’s First Law on clean electricity standards, as well as other federal environmental policies.
She said a court is expected to review the regulations and determine how much it would cost the province.
Asked if this will result in another legal challenge, Eyre replied: “We’ll have to see what the court finds in terms of the dollar figure.”
She argued that Saskatchewan constitutionally has jurisdiction over the operation of electric generating facilities, including the source of fuel used by those facilities.
The province lost its case against the federal government over the carbon tax, but Eyre said the decision in that case might not apply to other policies.
“Nowhere in that decision did it say that the federal government could continue to use its latest trump card, peace, order and good governance, in every set of regulations they decide to impose on the provinces,” he said. “And I would introduce clean electricity would be up there.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 3, 2023.
Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press