Consumer advocate has open mind on Muskrat Falls

The province's consumer advocate says he's keeping an open mind on whether Muskrat Falls is the best option for new power generation.

Tom Johnson says both Muskrat Falls and continuing with the Holyrood generating station have risks associated with them.

He is convinced more power will be needed. But he not sure whether Muskrat Falls is the way to go.

"Has the plan been backed up?" Johnson asked. "Does it make sense? Does it hang together? Are you satisfied that there's been good engineering? Are you satisfied there's been good cost estimates?"

Johnson says there are also risks with Holyrood and the cost of oil into the future.

Natural Resources Minister Jerome Kennedy has been stepping up the sales job on Muskrat Falls, predicting there will be blackouts by 2015 if new power doesn't come on stream.