Published Saturday April 11th, 2009, Page A1 Telegraph Journal

QUENTIN CASEY

SAINT JOHN - Despite growing delays and cost over-runs, the province's energy minister says New Brunswickers should not doubt the decision to overhaul the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station.

"This project has an impact on ratepayers in New Brunswick, there's no question about it. It's huge," Jack Keir said during a Telegraph-Journal's editorial board.

"But was it the right decision? Absolutely."

The refurbishment of Point Lepreau, Atlantic Canada's only nuclear facility, is now five months behind schedule.

The plant, located southwest of Saint John, was originally intended to be back online and producing power by the end of September.

As the project drags on, costs rise. The overhaul was originally budgeted at $1.4 billion.

The cost of completing the overhaul rests solely with the main contractor, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., a federal Crown corporation.

But the province has to pick up the bulk of the additional replacement power costs, which total about $1 million a day.

Without Lepreau generating electricity, the utility must purchase power from other sources, namely Hydro-Quebec.

That means the province is currently on the hook for $150 million in replacement fuel costs stemming from the delay - a figure that could grow as the retrofit enters more complicated stages.

The current delay is the result of problems with equipment that allows engineers to do their work remotely, outside the radioactive zone. Some of the tools have not performed as expected.

"This is a technical issue on a very complex job.  When they get that resolved, well bing, bang, bong - it's going (to go) like a son of a gun and they will make up some of that time," said Keir, the Fundy-River Valley MLA.

"That's what I'm hoping for - that some of that five months will come back."

And Keir insists the cost increases will not significantly impact local power rates in the short term, or the government's pledge to limit rate increases to three per cent or less until 2010-11.

That's because the cost of replacement power, including during the delay, won't be paid off in a lump sum. Instead, it will be funded over the remaining life of the facility - expected to be 25 to 30 years after the overhaul.

Conservative Opposition leader David Alward doesn't share Keir's optimism.

"The fact that the delay continues to grow every few weeks certainly should be of concern for New Brunswickers," said the Woodstock MLA. "The whole question of how that resulting cost is going to be borne is very important."

Late last year, the Tories called on government to form a committee - made up of both Liberal and Tory MLAs - to study and track the refurbishment more closely.

Alward contends the request isn't without precedent: When Lepreau was under construction, the Opposition of the day asked then-Premier Richard Hatfield to form a similar committee - a request he accepted.

"We believe this is more important than ever before," Alward said. "It's more clear by the week that this energy minister either doesn't know what's going on in his department, or he is not being completely transparent with New Brunswickers."

The Lepreau overhaul, which began last spring, was originally approved by the former Tory government of Bernard Lord.