The Sask. NDP is echoing some local industry concerns about SaskPower’s requested rate hikes for 2026-27.

During Thursday’s question period, the Official Opposition highlighted a letter penned by the Saskatchewan Industrial Energy Consumers Association (SIECA) to the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel which expressed disappointment over the decision, saying SIECA wasn’t properly consulted beforehand.

“Our membership considers this level of industry engagement or communication regarding this rate increase as insufficient and unexpected,” read the letter, which was written on March 20. “At engagements with industry earlier in the year, SaskPower provided no indication formal or otherwise to signal if or when there might be a rate increase.”

SIECA also stated that SaskPower gave no indication that there would be any changes in revenue requirements in its fall discussion with SIECA.

In February, SaskPower introduced a 3.9 per cent rate increase in 2026 and followed by another in 2027, which Crown Investments Minister Jeremy Harrison was necessary to improve SaskPower’s transmission system as well as for making investments.

Under the 2026-27 budget, the province is investing $1.7 billion in SaskPower’s electricity system.

Harrison said he was not going to inform customers of any decisions until the Rate Review Panel was aware and had the matter formally referred to them.

“I think that everybody in the province should be finding out at the same time in a formal context, when we referred the matter to the rate review panel, and that’s what we did,” he told reporters on Thursday.

The minister said these decisions come from necessary investments SaskPower needs to make.

“We’ve talked about the investments that we’re making into transmission infrastructure, we’ve talked about the investments that are going to be made into the transition to nuclear power,” he said.

“We’re making investments as well into life-extending our existing thermal assets. There are rate pressures because of the investments that we’re making. We believe that it’s reasonable with regard to that path forward for SaskPower.”

Harrison also suggested that there are $21 billion in capital savings for SaskPower by extending the life of its thermal coal-generating assets instead of replacing them with a combination of intermittence and gas.

However, NDP MLA Alean Young called these numbers into doubt.

“What we see from this minister is, again, a steady stream of lies,” Young said, arguing there hasn’t been any transparency or accountability from the provincial government.

“Myself, members of the public and certainly, the largest industries in the province have been clear; release the business case, let us know … what the impact is going to be on rates and what the impact is going to be on the crown when it comes to building out electricity in Saskatchewan.”