SaskPower bills to rise an average of 2.9% in 2025 due to carbon tax rate increase

Power lines near Lestock, Saskatchewan can be seen in this file photo. (David Prisciak/CTV News)

Residents in Saskatchewan will see a slight increase in their power bills come the new year, as the federal price on carbon is set rise.

Effective Jan. 1, 2025, the federal carbon tax applied to SaskPower’s carbon emissions will increase from $80 to $95 per tonne of C02 equivalent emissions.

To cover this added expense, the Crown will increase the carbon tax amount collected on customer bills by a system-wide average of 2.9 per cent.

According to SaskPower, the federal carbon tax rate rider must be revised on an annual basis to reflect the scheduled increases to the federal carbon tax – in addition to emissions thresholds applied to coal-fired power generation.

“The amount charged per customer will vary depending on their consumption and rate class,” SaskPower said in a release published Wednesday.

An average residential customer can expect to see an increase to their annual carbon tax payments of $26 in 2025, bringing the total carbon tax payments on electricity to an average of $107 per year.

Farm customers will see an average increase of $75, for an average total of $314.

The federal carbon tax was first applied to SaskPower emissions on Jan. 17, 2019.

The Government of Saskatchewan has exempted residents from paying federal carbon levies on home heating since January of 2024.

The province’s refusal to collect the tax on home heating has led to an extended legal dispute with the federal government.

Premier Scott Moe and the governing Saskatchewan Party have regularly blamed the tax on affordability issues within the province – countering NDP calls to cut the provincial sales tax on fuel, children’s clothes and prepared foods.

According to SaskPower, natural gas accounts for nearly half of Saskatchewan’s power generation. This is followed by coal (22 per cent), hydro (10 per cent) and wind (nine per cent).