NB Power will have to spend an extra $70 million to $90 million as delays prolong the Point Lepreau nuclear station's refurbishment by three to four months.

The admission came as David Hay, the president and chief executive officer of NB Power, appeared before the legislative assembly's Standing Committee on Crown corporations on Wednesday.

The $1.4-billion project was supposed to conclude at the end of September, but a series of delays will push the completion date to around Christmas. The setbacks are being attributed to Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.'s efforts to retube the Candu-6 reactor in southern New Brunswick.

'My feeling is it could be a lot more than $70 to $90 million if there's a delay of three to four months.'— Conservative MLA Paul Robichaud

NB Power will have to spend about $30 million a month on purchasing replacement power while the nuclear reactor is down. Before the refurbishment project started, NB Power renegotiated a series of contracts to include stiffer penalties on AECL if the project was not completed on time. It also took out insurance in case of any setbacks.

Hay estimates that the monthly cost to NB Power will be about $20 million once the penalties and insurance funds are recouped.

NB Power will be on the hook for the entire cost of the delays in October, which is considered a grace period.

Hay said his estimate is firm unless there are more delays that crop up in the massive project, something he would not rule out.

"I can tell you where we are at present. I cannot predict the future," he said. "I cannot tell you how this tooling will operate in the next couple of cycles, which we have yet to get through."

Tories question delay costs

Conservative MLA Paul Robichaud, the opposition's energy critic, said he was skeptical of the company's claims of how much the delay would cost.

"My feeling is it could be a lot more than $70 to $90 million if there's a delay of three to four months," Robichaud said.

The decision to forge ahead with the world's first Candu-6 refurbishment was a major source of controversy in 2005. The former Conservative government discussed entering into an agreement with Bruce Power that would have seen the Ontario company complete the refurbishment and sell the power back to New Brunswick.

That option would have saved the province money in the short term because Bruce Power would have paid the $1.4-billion price tag, but it would have charged the province a premium for the power.

Hay said the Ontario option would have added $450 million to the project's overall price tag.

Energy Minister Jack Keir said the $70 million to $90 million will be spread over the lifetime of the refurbished reactor so it won't affect the province's bottom line this year.