(File photo/CKOM News Staff)

By CKOM News

SaskPower announces $8M increase in net income

Jul 6, 2020 | 11:05 AM

Despite a drop in sales, SaskPower has reported an increase on its bottom line — thanks in part to the carbon tax.

The Crown corporation reported a net income of $205 million for the 2019-20 fiscal year when it tabled its annual report Monday. That was an $8-million increase in net income for the electrical utility over 2018-19.

SaskPower announced revenues of $2.771 billion, up $46 million from the previous year.

Saskatchewan electricity sales rose to $2.626 billion, a figure that included $83 million collected through the addition of the federal carbon tax to customers’ bills on April 1, 2019.

That money is to be set aside to pay the carbon tax to the federal government.

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However, the volume of sales to consumers in the province dropped by 2.1 per cent. It’s the first time since 2009 that annual sales haven’t risen from the previous year’s level.

Expenses during the year were $2.566 billion, an increase of $38 million from the previous year.

Capital expenditures were $696 million, down $137 million from 2018-19. The expenditures last year included $374 million to upgrade generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure and $253 million on growth projects.

SaskPower now has seven natural-gas fired stations and three coal-fired stations in thermal generation facilities. It also operates seven hydroelectric stations and two wind power facilities in non-thermal facilities.

“During the past year, we continued to move toward our target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 40 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030,” SaskPower president and CEO Mike Marsh said in a media release.

“The newly commissioned natural gas-fired Chinook Power Station will provide a stable source of baseload power while enabling the ongoing addition of intermittent renewable generation capacity such as wind and solar generation.”

During the year, SaskPower:

• Commissioned the 353-megawatt natural gas-fired Chinook Power Station near Swift Current;
• Completed the Pasqua to Swift Current Transmission Line, a $185-million project that will move electricity from the Chinook station while also supporting future wind generation development;
• Announced a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the new 350-MW natural gas-fired Great Plains Power Station that’s to be located in Moose Jaw and operational in 2024;
• Opened a competition for up to 300 MW of wind-generated power to be developed and operational by the end of 2023;
• Announced a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Meadow Lake Tribal Council for up to eight MW of biomass-generated electricity from a facility next to a sawmill near Meadow Lake;
• Signed a 20-MW utility-scale solar opportunity agreement with the First Nations Power Authority for the development of First Nations-led projects estimated to be worth $85 million over 20 years;
• Continued work on a $248-million project to extend the life of the 289-MW E.B. Campbell Hydroelectric Station near Nipawin; and,
• Approved 23 new customer projects bringing 34 MW of solar and carbon-neutral flaregas projects to the grid as part of our Power Generation Partner Program.

The Crown also plans to continue its evaluation of small modular reactors, having signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the governments of Ontario and New Brunswick

As well, SaskPower tried to help customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company waived the interest on outstanding bills for six months due to the coronavirus.

The report said COVID-19 didn’t have a significant impact on the company in 2019-20, but SaskPower is expecting a dip in revenue in the next fiscal year because of the pandemic.

During the year, nearly 2,000 residential and small business customers volunteered to have smart meters installed as SaskPower continued to seek improvements to its power grid.