Saint John Conservative MP Rodney Weston is calling into question the actual cost of replacement power during the $1.4-billion Point Lepreau refurbishment project. (CBC)

The refurbishment of Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, which is already expected to be about 16 months behind schedule, has missed another target date.

And as the $1.4-billion project continues to struggle, a Member of Parliament has challenged the province to take the federal government to court over cost overruns.

Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL), the federal Crown corporation in charge of project, was supposed to have 380 new calandria tubes installed in the nuclear reactor this week, according to the latest refurbishment schedule, which was revised last fall.

But the tubes are less than 10 per cent complete and won't be finished until at least March.

'Every contract has a dispute resolution mechanism involved. If there's something outside of that, go to the courts.'—Saint John MP Rodney Weston

AECL built significant flex time into its new schedule, so it's unclear whether the tube installation delay will push the overall project beyond the existing 16 month delay estimate.

About five weeks had been set aside for the tube phase of the project, which started Dec. 19. AECL will now have to install about seven tubes a day in order to finish by the end of March, compared to the one a day it's been averaging.

The tubes are each about seven metres in length and 13 centimetres in diameter. They penetrate the reactor face front to back in circular rows. They contain pressure tubes, which in turn hold the uranium fuel bundles. All of the nuclear activity of the reactor occurs inside them.

Inserting the new tubes is the first major step in rebuilding the reactor, which was shut down in March of 2008 for what was supposed to be an 18-month renovation.

Completion is now slated for late 2010.

NB Power has estimated that replacement fuel for each day the nuclear reactor is not running costs it $1 million.

MP says N.B. should sue

Earlier this week Energy Minister Jack Keir renewed calls for Ottawa to pay for the cost overruns even though the province did not negotiate protections against a major delay in the original contract.

"That's not the responsibility of the provincial government. It's not the responsibility of NB Power. And it's certainly not the responsibility of the ratepayers of the province of New Brunswick," he told reporters on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Saint John MP Rodney Weston said he is also disappointed with AECL. "I'm not really impressed that they come out with a price and they're so far off," he said.

The federal government has no intention of compensating New Brunswick for its losses and the province will have to sue Ottawa if wants any extra money, Weston said.

"Every contract has a dispute resolution mechanism involved. If there's something outside of that, go to the courts."

Weston also questioned the actual cost of replacement power during the refurbishment.

Although NB Power has estimated replacement fuel costs about $1 million a day, Weston said Energy Minister Jack Keir has told him the cost of replacement power could be as low as $10 million a month.

It's irresponsible to throw numbers out without backing them up, said Weston.

"I mean, it makes great headlines, I'll give you that. It makes terrific headlines. And it sensationalizes it," he said.

"So, that's what I'm saying, Go prove it. Go prove what the actual damages are. Prove what the actual costs are and get it resolved that way."

Keir said he doesn't remember telling Weston the replacement cost is lower than $1 million a day. "Not to my knowledge, no," he said.

"I've certainly had discussions with Rodney Weston about Lepreau and that deferral account and how the federal government has to come to the table. I don't know, I certainly don't recall it, and I don't know why I would tell him it was $10 million."

Premier Shawn Graham is threatening legal action against the federal government if it doesn't cover the cost overruns. The New Brunswick government has said AECL is to blame for the delays because of an overly optimistic timeline and not enough advance preparation.

AECL has admitted the original timeline for the project was never realistic.

Atlantic Canada's only nuclear reactor was supposed to be operating again in October 2009. Now it's not expected to generate any electricity until February 2011.

This is the world's first refurbishment of a Candu-6 reactor, and AECL had hoped that it would be a model to sell to other countries that had also purchased the same reactor.