Sask NDP is launching a public petition and seeking to formally intervene before the province's rate review panel in a bid to stop a pending increase to power bills.The official opposition says the move is a response to a planned interim rate hike for SaskPower, set to take effect on February 1, which it estimates will cost Saskatchewan people $136 million.NDP SaskPower critic Aleana Young wrote to the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel on Thursday requesting a date to present her case against the increase. She also launched a petition website, StopTheRateHike.ca, to rally public opposition..WIECHNIK: The absurdity of civilian resistance in a disarmed Canada.“We’re fighting back on all fronts because we know Saskatchewan people can’t afford to continue paying for Scott Moe’s failures,” said Young.She accused Moe of misleading the public, noting he said in the legislature in December there were no plans for a rate hike.“People didn’t see this coming because their own premier lied and told them it wasn’t coming,” Young told the media.The proposed increase is currently considered “interim.”.The independent Rate Review Panel will make a final decision on whether to make it permanent in August. Young said she hopes the panel will listen to public concern where the government has not.The NDP argues the rate hike is a “cash grab” to cover government mismanagement, pointing to the provincial debt doubling to roughly $40 billion during Moe’s tenure..BURTON: Mark Carney’s Davos pivot from globalization’s architect to its critic.“Let’s call this what it is, it’s a cash grab,” said Young. “The Sask Party ran up the debt and now they’re passing the bill down to ratepayers.”She cited recent statistics showing nearly half of Saskatchewan households find it difficult to meet their financial needs.The Sask Party government has stated the rate increase is necessary to cover rising operational costs at the Crown utility and to spend on infrastructure.
