Dalhousie power plant is viable: former mayor

A former mayor of Dalhousie is asking the province's new energy commission to save one of his community's last large employers.

Sandy MacLean said he knows NB Power's generating facility is old, but he's convinced there has to be a way to make it viable for the future.

The former provincial government planned to close the plant in Dalhousie, but David Alward's new government is giving the generating station one last look.

Dalhousie has lost two major employers in recent years a newsprint mill and a chemical company.

MacLean said the northern New Brunswicktown's tax base is dying and unemployment is growing.

He said he's not sure thecommunity of about 5,000 people can survive losing the 90jobs at the generating station.

"You can't just simply say, 'Well look, give us a handout type of thing and keep the plant going,'" MacLean said.

"No, I'm not saying that but we're worried. We're worried about the jobs certainly because those people that work at the plant don't just come from Dalhousie, they come from the whole region."

MacLean's comments come as the province's energy commission, which Premier David Alward's government appointed last fall,conducts a provincewide tour.

The commission is being led by Jeannot Volp, the former Tory interim leader, and Bill Thompson, the former deputy minister of energy during Bernard Lord's government.

MacLean said he wants the energy commission to take a close look at whether the power plant could be converted to burn something other than oil.

He said that might be expensive, but it would also be expensive to decommission the plant.

Operation extended

NB Power announced on Thursday that the Dalhousie station would continue operating beyond March because it has used less fuel than originally planned.

Gaetan Thomas, the president and chief executive officer of NB Power, said in a statement thatthe Dalhousie generating station saved fuel because warmer weather and high rain fallsallowed for more hydro generation.

NB Power received heavy fuel oil from Venezuela at a discounted price. The cheaper fuel was a part of the 2008 court settlement with Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the South American country's state-owned oil company.

"As a result, provisions have been made to operate the Dalhousie Generating Station beyond March to optimize the remaining fuel inventory to ensure the most efficient and economic benefit for NB Power's customers," Thomas said in a statement.