Here's how much SaskPower rate increases will cost you
SaskPower customers will notice an increase in price on bills starting in September.
The Government of Saskatchewan approved a recommended increase to SaskPower’s rates, which will increase bills twice over the next year, according to a news release.
The Crown’s rates will increase by four per cent on Sept. 1, 2022 and another four per cent on April 1, 2023.
The government said the new rate would result in an average increase of approximately $5 on residential customers' monthly bills – $10 in total for both increases.
"The decision to increase rates is not taken lightly and came after a thorough review by the independent Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel," Minister Responsible for SaskPower Don Morgan said.
"World events have caused a significant rise in the price of natural gas, and with 42 per cent of Saskatchewan's electricity coming from natural gas-fueled facilities, SaskPower requires additional revenue to maintain reliable operations."
SaskPower said the increase is driven by the rising price of natural gas and the company’s expected reliance on the resource as coal is phased out.
The Crown’s fuel and purchased power expense is expected to rise to $1.069 billion in 2023-24 – up from $715 million in 2020-21.
"In the four years since our last increase SaskPower has worked to find internal efficiencies, but at this time we require additional funding to continue to provide reliable and sustainable power," SaskPower president & CEO Rupen Pandya said.
"We will continue to be transparent about our rate strategy and the need for regular, moderate increases."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.