FREDERICTON, New Brunswick – It will be months before New Brunswick decides whether it will decommission Atlantic Canada’s only nuclear power plant, the province’s premier said Wednesday.

One day after the province’s Public Utilities Board rejected a proposal from NB Power to spend $845 million to refurbish the Point Lepreau plant, Premier Bernard Lord said it’s too early to make a definite decision about its future.

“I think it would be very premature to say Point Lepreau is over,” said Lord.

“There is months and months ahead for us. We have a process now where we are seeking private-sector interest and participation in Point Lepreau. That will be a determining factor in the decision that we will make to decommission or refurbish Point Lepreau and how we proceed.”

Point Lepreau, located in southern New Brunswick less than 30 miles from the Maine border, was opened in 1983 and is expected to be unable to provide reliable service after approximately 2006. NB Power was hoping to spend millions to extend its life by another 25 years.

After public hearings into the proposal last spring, the Public Utilities Board said the plan didn’t make economic sense.

The decision is a recommendation only. The final say rests in the hands of the provincial cabinet. Lord said he is optimistic the private sector will be interested in Point Lepreau, although he said he’s not sure whether there will be a good fit for New Brunswick.

“We will have to analyze the proposals and make sure they are in the best interest of the people of New Brunswick, considering access to power, clean energy and the cost and the financial impact to the taxpayers of New Brunswick.”