SaskEnergy customers could see rate changes following latest review

Rate Review Panel on SaskEnergy WATCH: The Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel is recommending that SaskEnergy reduce rates.

SaskEnergy customers may see changes to their monthly bill following the latest recommendations from the province's rate review panel.

The Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel has recommended SaskEnergy decrease its commodity rate by $1 following the completion of its latest review.

The commodity rate is the gas consumption charge on a person's bill.

According to a news release from the rate review panel, a recommendation has been made to the Crown that the commodity rate be reduced from $4.20 per gigajoule (GJ) to $3.20/GJ.

“Which will reduce the discharge period in the [gas cost variance account] from December 31, 2025 to September 30, 2025 to match the typical gas commodity year of October 1 to September 30,” the release read.

SaskEnergy says its gas cost variance account is used to help provide customers with stable rates over the short term when natural gas prices fluctuate.

In total, five recommendations were made from the review panel after completing SaskEnergy’s proposed 2023 commodity rate application and its delivery rate financial update.

According to the rate review panel, the review was a continuation of the panel’s overall evaluation of an application submitted by SaskEnergy in July 2022, the panel further recommended with the June 2023 application a 24.5 per cent commodity rate decrease and a five per cent increase for the delivery rate that would be effective Oct. 1 if approved.

Other recommendations made were that SaskEnergy releases a deadline to make the conversion to billing in energy.

Another recommendation made was that SaskEnergy may increases its delivery rate by five per cent for the 2023-24 fiscal year provided that no other increases are implemented during the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The fourth recommendation made says SaskEnergy should consider more strategies that would reduce the trend of increasing its operational, maintenance and administrative costs.

The final recommendation stated that, “any outstanding recommendations in the Panel’s report dated December 16, 2022, are carried forward with the understanding that those that have not been implemented or dealt with will continue to be a priority for the company.”

A complete copy of the panel’s report can be read here.