The StarPhoenix Editorial Board makes one valid point in its January 10, 2013 opinion piece “Politics worsen electrical woes” – the sooner we come to grips with reality, the sooner SaskPower’s problems can be fixed.  The problem is the ideological decision making of the Government of Saskatchewan that undermines our Crowns evidenced by privatizing our power production and divided-stripping.Nearly 20 per cent of the power produced in the province in the coming years has been privatized through Power Purchase Agreements that take money away from the Crown and into pr...

Yet again the provincial government has approved a Crown rate hike - effective January 1, 2013, most customers will see a rate increase between $4 - $6 per month.Although the government claims that SaskPower has not raised rates since August 2010, they did take a $120-million special dividend. Money that could have been used to invest in infrastructure upgrades that are being cited as reasoning for this rate increase.When looking at rate increases, it is also important to consider the Crown utilities bundle that is offered to customers in Saskatchewan. Prior to 2007, our province was commited ...

Later this fall, the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel (SRRP) will hold public meetings regarding the proposed rate increase at SaskPower that would take effect in the beginning of next year.Saskatchewan residents will have the opportunity to hear from SaskPower regarding the pending rate increases but you can also submit your personal comments in person, by mail, or electronically. The following meetings will be held: Saskatoon – Sept 19, 1:30pm at the Delta Bessborough Regina – Oct 2, 7:30pm at the Ramada Hotel According to the rate application, SaskPower is “recommendi...

For those of you that have not had a chance to catch some of the newspapers throughout the province this month, here are a couple of articles involving our Crown Corporations that might be of interest to you:“Energy tale of two provinces” by Bruce Johnstone was printed in the Leader-Post on July 14, 2012. In a comparison between Saskatchewan and Alberta, Johnstone explains, “Remember when energy deregulation was all the rage? The old monopoly utilities were going to go the way of the dodo. In their place would be efficient, profit-driven private companies competing for consum...

This week SaskPower announced that they will be seeking a 4.9 per cent rate increase that would be effective at the beginning of next year if approved. Rural residential, farm, and commercial customers will be hit the hardest with the proposed increases, while all customers across the province will see some level of increase.In yesterday’s news release SaskPower noted, “The increase is needed to fund investments in the province’s electrical system to keep up with our growing economy and maintain electrical reliability.” The people of Saskatchewan should be asking themse...

Recently Premier Wall announced a cabinet shuffle and the creation of the Ministry of the Economy with the main purpose to make sure that “we can consistently implement our growth plan for the province” and to ensure the “government’s not getting in the way of growth.” With Bill Boyd now in charge of the new Economy portfolio, our question is this: will Crown Corporations be included in the province’s growth plan? For decades, Crowns have given Saskatchewan the advantage of being an affordable place to live and provides good jobs for nearly 12, 000 people.&n...

With the current government selling off bits and pieces of our power industry to out-of-province power companies, today we take a few minutes to look into Saskatchewan’s future power industry. Power Purchase Agreements (PPA’s), in their simplest terms, are contracts with private power companies to supply power to the Saskatchewan grid. Many PPA’s are signed for ‘peak load’ power, which means that when Saskatchewan is using a high amount of power, SaskPower can purchase excess from these providers. In some cases, our government is actually signing agreements are fo...

News ReleaseFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 2, 2012Government privatizes more Saskatchewan powerThe Brad Wall government announced Wednesday that an additional seven percent of Saskatchewan’s power is being privatized – reaching an alarming total of nearly 17 per cent by the end of 2016. SaskPower announced another Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Windlectric Inc. which is a subsidiary of Ontario-based Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (Algonquin).The new $355-million wind project will be located near Chaplin, Saskatchewan and will be fully operational by the end of 2016. Algonqui...

Our neighbours in Alberta are being told once again to expect rate increases for their monthly residential electricity - directly on the heels of an approximately $25 increase in December 2010.   Proponents of deregulation commonly tell consumers that increased competition in markets such as electricity will provide the lowest rates. Unfortunately for our neighbours in both Alberta and British Columbia, this simply has not been the case.   It was just over a year ago that residents in B.C. were told to expect rate increases that were directly related to the costly Power Purchase ...

Today is Saskatchewan, Crown Corporations are being sold off, contracted out, deregulated and dismantled slowly by the Brad Wall government.  As the people of the province, we are being lied to about the future of the very organizations that we have built from the ground up. Today in Saskatchewan when the government says they have not sold off any Crown Corporations, ask them about the Saskatchewan Communications Network. A Crown that was valued at nearly $4 million and was attributed to attracting millions of dollars a year for the television film industry in Saskatchewan – SOLD f...

We you aware that in December 2010, BC Hydro customers were told to expect a near 30% price increase over the next 3 years? Government critics attribute the increase to failed Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) and "the government forcing BC Hydro to buy expensive power from the private sector, instead of generating more power itself through public projects."Why would the Brad Wall government want to make the same mistakes other provinces have made?Only 3 months after BC residents were told to expect price increases, the Saskatchewan Party government entered into a 20-year PPA with Ontario-based ...

It is clear that the people of Saskatchewan are being deceived.  Our current government has made many claims regarding the future of Crown Corporations in Saskatchewan. One of which was a statement from our current Premier stating “Crowns are not going to be privatized and (subsidiaries) are not going to be wound down.” Our current government`s actions have been nothing but contrary to this statement.Merriam Webster defines the word privatize as the process “to make private; especially to change (as a business or industry) from public to private control or ownership.&rdq...

Our current government continues to enter into power deals that protect private companies from increased fuel costs but pass increased costs onto Saskatchewan citizens. In February 2010, SaskPower entered into a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Ontario-based Northland Power Income Fund. Construction began near North Battleford in July 2010, with the plant scheduled to begin operations in 2013. Once fully operational Northland Power will produce 347 megawatts of base load power, representing nearly 10% of the power generated in Saskatchewan. According to a Northland Power news rele...