Effective January 1, 2024, the federal carbon tax applied to SaskPower’s carbon emissions will increase from $65 to $80 per tonne of CO2 emissions. To cover the increase, the federal Carbon Tax rate rider on SaskPower bills will require an average increase of 0.5 per cent which means the average residential customer will see an increase bringing their total carbon tax bill for the year to $85 and for the average farm customer a total federal carbon tax bill of $238.

However, the Saskatchewan government is directing SaskPower to stop collecting the carbon tax on electric home heating. And that change also starts January 1st. The government has suggested it will provide some relief for approximately 30,000 SaskPower customers in the province. And at the end of October Premier Scott Moe first announced the province’s intention to stop collecting carbon tax on natural gas for home heating beginning Jan. 1 in response to Ottawa’s decision to suspend carbon tax on home heating oil which primarily benefits Atlantic Canada.

SaskPower says the federal carbon tax was established in 2019 for emissions above established thresholds. It has since increased on an annual basis and will continue to do so until it reaches $170/tonne in 2030. SaskPower tabulates that from 2019 to the end of 2024, its customers will have paid an estimated $1.0 billion in federal carbon taxes.