SaskPower sent out the Year in review media release from their President and CEO, Mike Marsh.

Year in review: SaskPower continues to investYear in review: SaskPower continues to invest in modernizing and growing Saskatchewan’selectricity system.

“This year, SaskPower has made major capital investments to keep bringing a“This year, SaskPower has made major capital investments to keep bringing a safe and reliable supply of power to our province’s homes, farms and businesses while also making significant headway in the transition to cleaner generation sources. We make these investments strategically to ensure we can continue to exceed industry standard reliability while keeping rates as low as possible for our customers.”Mike Marsh, President, and CEO, SaskPower 2018.

SaskPower continued to make progress in executing a number of major capital projects, including:

  • The $680.5 million natural gas-fired Chinook Power Station near the $680.5 million natural gas-fired Chinook Power Station nearSwift Current is on-budget and on-track for commissioning in fall 2019. Local suppliers have been awarded approximately $120 million in contracts.
  • We started construction on two new transmission lines to bring power from the Chinook PowerWe started construction on two new transmission lines to bring power from the Chinook PowerStation to customers across the province. Combined, these lines will cost an estimated $240 million and span about 205 kilometers.
  • We signed a power purchase agreement with Potential Renewables that will see the development of a 200-We signed a power purchase agreement with Potential Renewables that will see the development of a 200-megawatt wind power facility that will produce enough renewable electricity for about 90,000 homes.
  • We continued work to extend the life of E.B. Campbell Hydroelectric Station near Nipawin. This work continued work to extend the life of E.B. Campbell Hydroelectric Station near Nipawin. This work will ensure we can continue operating this renewable source of hydro generation for another 50 years. The total cost for this project is an estimated $300 million.
  • Concrete refurbishment work at Island Falls Hydroelectric Station will sustain the life of another concrete refurbishment work at Island Falls Hydroelectric Station will sustain the life of another existing renewable generation source. This multi-year project will be complete in 2021 at an estimated cost of $45 million.
  • Our Transmission Wood Pole Replacement Program and Distribution Wood Pole Remediation ProgramOur Transmission Wood Pole Replacement Program and Distribution Wood Pole Remediation Program will help minimize outages caused by storms, particularly for our rural customers. An estimated112,000 wood power poles were inspected in 2018.
  • Our Underground Cable Injection Program will extend the life of our underground lines by up to 25 years, meaning more reliable service for our customers.

As a company, SaskPower contributes approximately $1.8 billion to Saskatchewan’s economy each year. This includes an estimated:

$1.4 billion in payments to Saskatchewan suppliers and independent power producers$1.4 billion in payments to Saskatchewan suppliers and independent power producers and $400 million in salaries and benefits.