The Yukon's public power utility should release feasibility studies it had done on wind and geothermal energy, says NDP MLA Steve Cardiff.

Cardiff is calling on Yukon Energy Corp. to release the studies, which he said the utility has been withholding to date.

"These studies were paid for with public funds. The energy corporation belongs to Yukon citizens," Cardiff told CBC News on Friday.

"We believe that the information should be made available to Yukon citizens."

Cardiff said Yukoners have been told that the territory faces an energy shortage, as the Minto copper mine is already in production and two more mines also hope to tap into the territory's hydroelectric grid.

Cardiff said Yukon Energy seems uninterested in pursuing wind power, but the utility should at least say why that option is being dismissed. There may be people in the private sector interested in generating wind power, he added.

"If they're not going to go down that road, the public needs to know why, and they need to know what the facts are," he said.

The government already releases information to the mining industry about mineral exploration being done by the Yukon Geological Survey, and Cardiff said Yukon Energy should do the same with its research on power generation.

Yukon Energy has yet to provide a response to Cardiff's concerns.