SaskEnergy, SaskPower report net income drops in latest annual reports
SaskPower net income down $45M from 2019-20; SaskEnergy net income was $7M lower than previous year
Two of Saskatchewan's Crown corporations released their annual reports Wednesday, and both SaskEnergy and SaskPower's reported drops in net income. The corporations both said that was due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SaskPower had a net income of $160 million in 2020-21, down $45 million compared to 2019-20, according to its 2020-21 report. Don Morgan, the minister responsible for major Crown corporations, said COVID-19 was the primary cause for a three per cent drop in electricity use.
Morgan criticized the federal carbon tax but said that despite those "cost pressures," the corporation is building "cleaner energy for [the] province."
Per its annual report, SaskPower is hoping that by the 2025-26 fiscal year, 15 per cent of generating capacity will come from wind.
SaskPower says it still aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
"SaskPower is evaluating the feasibility of existing and emerging low or non-emitting power generation options with a view to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from operations by 2050 or sooner," Morgan said.
"In the year ahead, we plan to add more than 400 MW [megawatts] of renewable electricity," the report reads.
That includes a 200-megawatt wind energy facility being developed by Potentia Renewables south of Assiniboia, a 175-megawatt facility being developed by Algonquin Power near Herbert, and a 10-megawatt facility being developed by Capstone Infrastructure, the report says.
SaskEnergy
SaskEnergy's net income was $59 million in the 2020-21 fiscal year, which was $7 million lower than the $66 million from the previous year, according to the corporation's annual report.
The collapse in global oil prices, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, affected that, the corporation said in a news release.
SaskEnergy says it rebated $1.8 million to customers this past fiscal year, through programs like the residential equipment replacement rebate, the commercial space and water heating program, and the commercial boiler program.
The corporation added 3,001 new customers this year, it says. SaskEnergy users in Saskatchewan also matched or broke daily gas usage records for the eighth winter in a row.