NB Power says it can no longer predict exactly when the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant will be up and running again — and for every day it's delayed it costs the province $670,000 to replace the electricity the plant would normally produce.

The $1.4-billion project was supposed to be finished by this September, a date that was first pushed back to December and is now in danger of running into next year.

Gaëtan Thomas, NB Power's vice-president nuclear, said Thursday that picking a completion date is no longer possible.

NB Power has said any delays in the refurbishing of the plant will cost it directly about $670,000 a day. So, with no firm completion date for the project, the size of that bill can no longer be calculated.

The Point Lepreau station, just west of Saint John, is the only nuclear power plant in the Atlantic provinces. It has been shut down for this major refit since April 2008.

When fully operational, the 25-year-old plant produces 30 per cent of the power the province uses.

At the start of the Lepreau job, Thomas and every other senior NB Power official — including NB Power president David Hay — predicted in promotional videos the refurbishment would go off without a hitch.

As late as last month, with problems mounting, Thomas was still saying the job could be finished by the end of December.

But Thomas acknowledged Thursday that hope of finishing by Christmas is fading.

"It's going to be a challenge — the end of 2009 is going to be a challenge to get it back on line, and we all acknowledge that. But we are not giving up for the people of New Brunswick to bring it in as early as possible," Thomas said.