Ottawa rejected on Thursday a plea from New Brunswick to help fund the $1.4 billion refurbishing of an elderly nuclear power plant, saying it would set an expensive precedent.

Other nuclear plants across the country, including three in Ontario and one in Quebec, need funding besides the Point Lepreau plant, Fredericton MP Andy Scott said.

"We made an honest effort to come up with a deal in response to the request by the premier," he said.

Liberal MP Andy Scott (CP file photo)

Electricity generation is within provincial jurisdiction, said Scott, the federal minister of state for infrastructure.

"At the end of the day, we weren't able to come up with the policy rationale that would protect us from everyone coming forward looking for the same thing," he said.

Premier Bernard Lord has threatened to build a polluting coal-fired plant instead, saying it's the most affordable alternative if no federal cash is forthcoming.

New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord (CP file photo)

Lord's Tory government had been misled after Ottawa helped build the plant 25 years ago, provincial spokesman Chisholm Portier told local media.

"We are disgusted by the way the federal government informed us, basically through journalists," Portier said.

The plant employs 700 workers and provides a third of the province's power. The lack of federal funding may also impact on PEI, which depends on New Brunswick for most of its power.

The Point Lepreau nuclear generator began operating in 1983 and is to be closed in 2008. Refurbishing the plant southwest of Saint John would extend energy production by 20 to 30 years.

According to Scott, other provinces were watching the negotiations carefully, waiting to demand their share of money if Ottawa invested in Lepreau.

Three nuclear generators in Ontario and one in Quebec are at roughly the same stage as Point Lepreau and will soon need to be refurbished.

Margaret Ann Blaney, New Brunswick's minister for training and employment, said she was floored when she heard Ottawa was walking away.

"We had not received any indication that they were going to completely walk away from this and abdicate any kind of responsibility when we believe that they do have a responsibility here," Blaney said.