A day before the Minister receives a report on SaskPower’s request for a rate increase, SaskEnergy has announced it is requesting approval for a rate increase from the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel.

SaskEnergy’s rate proposal is a combined one-year commodity and three year delivery service rate proposal.

This means, if approved, the average SaskEnergy residential bill would increase $11.95 a month, or 16.8 per cent in the first year; $2.43 per month (2.9 per cent) in the second year and in year three an increase of $2.53 per month (3.0 per cent).

In a news release, acting President and CEO Mark Guillet says, “SaskEnergy’s residential customers currently have the lowest natural gas bills in Canada and will continue to have the lowest natural gas bills in the country if this proposal is approved.”

SaskEnergy’s commodity rate is set, according to the Crown Corporation, on a cost-recovery basis with no profit or loss. The provincial energy supplier says the increases would “ensure the maintenance of safe, reliable and affordable natural gas service across Saskatchewan over the next three years.”

Meanwhile, SaskPower has applied to the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel (SRRP) for rate increases of 4 per cent in 2022, and another 4 per cent in 2023. SaskPower has not increased its rates since 2018. The SRRP indicates on its website that a report to the minister regarding the SaskPower request will be delivered on July 12th.