SaskPower bills to rise Jan. 1 in wake of carbon tax increase

SaskPower bills are to increase Jan. 1 because of a hike in the federal carbon tax.

In a media release Friday, SaskPower noted the carbon tax applied to the company’s carbon emissions will increase from $50 to $65 per tonne. As a result, the carbon tax rate rider on SaskPower bills will increase on average by three per cent.

“SaskPower is steadily moving toward a low-carbon future while continuing to provide the reliable electricity our province needs to grow,” SaskPower president and CEO Rupen Pandya said in the release.

“We are striving to achieve these goals while keeping rates as low as possible while complying with a federal regulatory framework that requires us to collect additional carbon tax revenue.”

The Crown corporation said the three per cent increase is on top of SaskPower’s previously announced rate increase of four per cent, which took effect Sept. 1. The amount each customer pays after the increase in the carbon tax rate rider will depend on their power consumption.

“SaskPower must collect the carbon tax through customer bills via a rate rider that is revised January 1 of every year,” the company’s release said. “The rate rider is based on an estimate of carbon taxes for the upcoming calendar year, and the difference between the amount collected and actual payment due is factored into the following year’s rate rider.”

The carbon tax is to keep increasing annually until it reaches $170 per tonne in 2030.