(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By paNOW staff

Carbon Tax

Carbon Tax incoming

Mar 4, 2019 | 10:00 AM

Saskatchewan residents will soon start seeing changes to their SaskEnergy and SaskPower bills.

According to a media release, starting April 1, the Federal Carbon Tax will be applied to all bills received by SaskPower and SaskEnergy customers. This will result in a monthly increase for the average residential customer of about $2 for power and $9 for natural gas for the rest of 2019.

“In Prairie Resilience, our government has a Saskatchewan-based solution to lower greenhouse gas emissions without a tax,” Minister Responsible for SaskPower, Dustin Duncan said in a release. “SaskPower worked hard to ensure there would be no rate increase this year. The federal government is imposing a carbon tax that will take more than $52 million this year and $546 million through 2022 from SaskPower customers.”

“Our government is currently reviewing a request by SaskEnergy to reduce natural gas commodity rates to their lowest level in 20 years, effective April 1,” Minister Responsible for SaskEnergy, Bronwyn Eyre said in a release. “These savings would be wiped out by the Federal Liberals’ carbon tax, resulting in higher natural gas bills for homes and businesses. SaskEnergy serves 114,000 more homes and businesses, compared to three decades ago, and yet this larger customer base uses the same amount of natural gas as the smaller customer base did in 1988. This change happened through information, dedication and education—not unnecessary legislation.”

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Customers will see the tax identified on their bills as a Federal Carbon Tax. The amount is expected to increase annually to coincide with the multi-year increases established in the federal plan. While the Government of Saskatchewan is challenging the carbon tax in court, it still applies during the legal process.

The charge will be applied to SaskPower bills related to electricity produced by power-generating sources like coal and natural gas. This charge will equal an average 2.7 per cent rate increase for 2019, which reflects the estimated additional cost to generate power from these sources. For the average residential customer, it means an increase of $18 over the course of the year, rising to $63 in 2022. On average, individual industrial customers will be paying an additional $164,600 this year, rising to $617,500 in 2022.

SaskEnergy customers will be paying about $70 million more the first year because of the Federal Carbon Tax. Customers can expect an additional charge of $1/Gigajoule or about $109 more this year for the average residential customer. There will be additional increases of about $54 per year through 2022.