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SaskPower and SaskEnergy both reported lower year-over-year incomes in their 2020-21 annual reports Wednesday.
SaskPower had a net income of $160 million in 2020-21, down $45 million compared to 2019-20. The Crown corporation said that was due in part to a three per cent drop in electricity use largely connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report said electricity sales were down a total of $11 million from the previous year, with decreases sales in oilfields ($45 million), commercial ($21 million) and power ($11 million) offset in part by revenue increases in the federal carbon tax ($46 million) and residential power sales ($20 million).
SaskEnergy, meanwhile, reported a net income from operations of $59 million, down $7 million from the previous year and down $75 million from the 2018-19 fiscal year.
The corporation declared a dividend of $21 million to the Crown Investment Corporation of Saskatchewan, a decrease of $3 million from the previous year and of $39 million from ’18-19.
SaskPower
In a media release, Minister Responsible for SaskPower Don Morgan said the Crown helped customers during the pandemic by offering help through such initiatives as the Community Rink Relief Program and waiving interest on outstanding bills.
The corporation also put $1.8 billion into the provincial economy in 2020-21, including $573 million in contracts to Saskatchewan suppliers.
“Our financial results were stronger than expected given the COVID-19 pandemic, and we continued to find internal efficiencies, which contributed to a third consecutive year without filing a rate increase,” SaskPower president and CEO Mike Marsh said in the release.
“We were able to do this while investing $693 million in the provincial electricity system to ensure the delivery of reliable, sustainable and cost-effective power to our customers.”
During the year, SaskPower started construction on the 350-megawatt natural gas-fired Great Plains Power Station, announced the development of the 10MW Foxtail Grove Solar Energy Facility in northeast Regina, signed power purchase agreements for two 10MW solar projects operated by the First Nations Power Authority, and signed on to the Government of Canada’s Small Modular Reactor Action Plan.
SaskPower also started a pilot project to install residential smart meters and completed the installation of more than 38,000 smart meters for industrial and commercial customers — a program that began in 2017.
SaskEnergy
Three SaskEnergy programs — the Residential Equipment Replacement Rebate, Commercial Space and Water Heating Program, and Commercial Boiler Program — distributed more than $1.8 million in rebates to help customers reduce utility costs by installing high-efficiency systems.
The company’s carbon monoxide safety initiative, which featured a $10 CO alarm rebate in 139 stores in the province, helped customers install 24,500 CO alarms in their homes during the year. Another 2,000 alarms were installed through the Tune-Up Assistance Program (TAP), the Network Home Heating Tune-Up Program, and the SaskEnergy Service Technician CO Program.
SaskEnergy invested $48.6 million in transmission infrastructure and gas lines near Shaunavon and Pierceland and another $89 million in safety and integrity programs in the province.
The company also reported a reduction of total overall greenhouse gas emissions from operations by 12,900 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
