ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - The proposed Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project should be independently reviewed by international energy experts, says former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Brian Peckford.

In an open letter to Tory Premier Kathy Dunderdale, Peckford said the province's Public Utilities Board lacks the expertise to assess the $6.2-billion project.

Dunderdale shrugged off the letter as an out-of-date "missive from afar" but Peckford joins a list of former public servants and lawyers who have cast doubt on the venture.

The Public Utilities Board is reviewing plans to harness power from the lower Churchill River in Labrador with links to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

"Frankly, the board and its staff do not have the expertise to evaluate this project," Peckford wrote in the letter sent early Tuesday.

He says the board is primarily a regulatory body mandated to deal with such issues as electricity rates and petroleum pricing.

"It is not structured to assess a multibillion-dollar project, examining it against other modes of generation and transmission."

The board is to report by March 31 on whether power from Muskrat Falls is needed, and if it would be cheaper than the island of Newfoundland remaining isolated from mainland energy sources.

Other critics have already assailed the provincial government's refusal to allow the board a requested extension for its review.

On Tuesday, NDP Leader Lorraine Michael declined an opportunity to make a presentation at hearings before the board's commissioners. She said the government is rushing a costly project without doing enough to weigh alternatives.

Peckford, a Progressive Conservative who was premier for 10 years before retiring in 1989, says other options, such as natural gas, have not been fully explored.

He moved to British Columbia to start a consulting business but was out of the country travelling on Tuesday.

"Times have changed," he wrote to Dunderdale. "In the sixties and seventies and even eighties hydro was king. This is not necessarily so today.

"It may be the best project ever," he said of Muskrat Falls. "But the project has to be tested objectively, especially given the size and complexity of the project, and the severe financial implications on the province if the contingency identified is insufficient."

Peckford says an independent panel of "highly qualified people of international stature in energy policy" should be given six months to review the development.

He noted a deal, which is widely despised in the province, giving Quebec access to power and profits from the Upper Churchill hydro plant in Labrador runs out in 2041.

At that time, the province "will have substantial very low-cost hydro power," Peckford wrote.

"Should the question be framed as to how we can best get to 2041 to take advantage of this already developed cheap hydro?"

Critics have raised concerns about potential cost overruns. They also quote the findings of a joint federal-provincial environmental review panel that found proof lacking for both the need and viability of the project.

Dunderdale and other supporters say Muskrat Falls is the cheapest way to meet growing provincial energy needs.

A review of the project released earlier this month by Manitoba Hydro International found that it's the cheapest energy option, although it warned of risky variables that could drive up costs.

Dunderdale on Tuesday also cited a report last September by global energy analyst Navigant Consulting. It used data from Crown corporation Nalcor Energy to conclude that Muskrat Falls is the least cost energy option by about $2.2 billion over time.

Dunderdale told reporters that the Public Utilities Board has access to global experts through Manitoba Hydro International, and that she is confident in how Muskrat Falls has been developed.

"We'll wait now until the PUB concludes its work."

Dunderdale wants to debate the project in the spring sitting of the legislature before the government decides whether to green-light it.

Under a term sheet reached in November 2010, Nova Scotia private utility Emera would fund a 180-kilometre subsea link between Cape Ray, N.L., and Lingan, N.S., at a cost of $1.2 billion.

A further $2.1 billion would be spent to build a transmission link from Labrador to Newfoundland, $600 million of which would be provided by Emera.

Nalcor would spend $2.9 billion to build a power generating facility at Muskrat Falls capable of producing 824 megawatts of electricity.

Nova Scotia would get 170 megawatts of energy a year, about 10 per cent of the province's total energy needs, for 35 years.