SaskPower
Encyclopedia
Since 1929, SaskPower has been the principal supplier of electricity in Saskatchewan
, Canada
. Today, it serves more than 473,000 customers and manages $5.3 billion in assets. SaskPower is a major employer in the province with over 2,700 permanent full-time staff located in 71 communities.
Owned by the government through its holding company, the Crown Investments Corporation
, SaskPower is governed by a Board of Directors who are accountable to the provincial government Minister Responsible for Saskatchewan Power Corporation.
SaskPower has the exclusive right and the exclusive obligation to supply electricity in the province, except in the city of Swift Current and most of the city of Saskatoon
. The Swift Current Department of Light and Power provides electrical services within the municipal boundary of Swift Current. Saskatoon Light & Power
provides service to the customers within the 1958 boundaries of Saskatoon while SaskPower has responsibility for areas annexed after 1958.
facilities, six natural gas-fired facilities, seven hydroelectric facilities, and two wind power facilities. SaskPower also buys power from the SunBridge Wind Power Project, Red Lily Wind Project, Meridian Cogeneration Station, Cory Cogeneration Station, and NRGreen Kerrobert, Loreburn, Estlin and Alameda Heat Recovery Projects. SaskPower's total available generation capacity was 4,009 MW.
The Saskpower transmission system utilizes lines carrying 230,000 volts, 138,000 volts and 72,000 volts. SaskPower has interconnections at the Manitoba, Alberta and North Dakota borders.
distribution system, claimed to be a pioneering effort (although some utilities in the USA had been using such a system on its rural lines). It was at the time one of the largest such systems in the world. One of the last cities in the province added to SaskPower's system was North Portal in 1971 (which had been served up to this point from Montana-Dakota Utilities' distribution system in Portal, ND just across the border).
In May, 2010 SaskPower entered into a Feasibility Study Agreement with Brookfield Renewable Power
, James Smith First Nation
, Peter Chapman First Nation, Chakastaypasin Band of the Cree and Kiewit Corporation to conduct a feasibility study on construction of the Pehonan Hydroelectric Project; a 250 MW run-of-river generating station.
A provincial power system was desirable for many reasons. In the early days of electricity in the province of Saskatchewan, electricity was largely unavailable outside of larger centres. Most electrical utilities were owned either privately or by municipalities, and none of them were interconnected. Because each utility operated independently, rates often varied significantly between communities – anywhere from 4 to 45 cents per kilowatt hour in the mid 1920s. The rapid growth in the province’s population in the first decades of the century – from 91,279 to 757,510 within 20 years – had led to a sharp increase in the demand for electricity. Finally, the provincial government had determined that the lack of inexpensive power was hampering the development of industry in the province (Ref).
While the Commission began purchasing independently owned electrical utilities with the goal of interconnecting them, the economic situation of the 1930s and the labour shortage caused by the Second World War delayed the creation of a provincial power system for nearly two decades.
By 1948, the Commission operated 35 generating stations and more than 8,800 km of transmission lines. However, most farm families who had electricity generated it themselves using battery systems charged by wind turbines or gasoline- or diesel-powered generators. Across the province, only 1,500 farms were connected to the electrical grid, most of them because of their proximity to the lines that linked cities and larger towns.
In 1949, by an Act of the Provincial Legislature, the Commission became the Saskatchewan Power Corporation. The first task of the new Corporation was to purchase what remained of the province’s small, independent electrical utilities and to begin integrating them into a province-wide electrical grid.
The final step in creating a truly province-wide grid was to electrify the province’s vast rural areas. The primary hurdle to rural electrification was the very low customer density in the province – approximately one farm customer per network mile (1.6 km) – and the extremely high cost of a network of the scale required by the vast distances between customers. After much study, the Corporation adopted a single wire ground return
distribution scheme, which lowered the cost of rural electrification significantly.
The first year of the program set the goal of connecting 1200 rural customers to the network. The experience gained during the first years led to an increased rate of connections every year, leading to a peak yearly connection rate in 1956 of 7,800 customers. By 1961, 58,000 farms were connected, and by 1966 when the program concluded, the Corporation had provided power to a total of 66,000 rural customers. In addition, hundreds of schools, churches and community halls received electrical service during this period.
Online:
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Today, it serves more than 473,000 customers and manages $5.3 billion in assets. SaskPower is a major employer in the province with over 2,700 permanent full-time staff located in 71 communities.
Legal status
SaskPower was founded as the Saskatchewan Power Commission in 1929, becoming the Saskatchewan Power Corporation in 1949. The abbreviated name SaskPower was officially adopted in 1987.Owned by the government through its holding company, the Crown Investments Corporation
Crown Investments Corporation
Crown Investments Corporation is the holding company used by the Government of Saskatchewan to manage their Crown Corporations.-History:...
, SaskPower is governed by a Board of Directors who are accountable to the provincial government Minister Responsible for Saskatchewan Power Corporation.
SaskPower has the exclusive right and the exclusive obligation to supply electricity in the province, except in the city of Swift Current and most of the city of Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
. The Swift Current Department of Light and Power provides electrical services within the municipal boundary of Swift Current. Saskatoon Light & Power
Saskatoon Light & Power
Saskatoon Light & Power is a utility that provides electrical service within the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada . The utility is owned by the City of Saskatoon, but its service is limited to the city as it was within its boundaries as of 1958, the year the company was founded...
provides service to the customers within the 1958 boundaries of Saskatoon while SaskPower has responsibility for areas annexed after 1958.
Customers
SaskPower serves over 473,000 customers through more than 150,000 kilometres of power lines throughout the province and covers a service territory that includes Saskatchewan's geographic area of approximately 650,000 square kilometres. This relatively low customer density means that while most North American electrical utilities supply an average of 12 customers per circuit kilometre, SaskPower supplies about three. In fiscal year 2010, total electricity revenue was $1,587 million (Canadian) on sales of 18,862 gigawatt hours of electricity.Facilities
SaskPower has a generating capacity of 3,513 megawatts (MW) from 18 generating facilities, including three coal-fired base loadBase load power plant
Baseload is the minimum amount of power that a utility or distribution company must make available to its customers, or the amount of power required to meet minimum demands based on reasonable expectations of customer requirements...
facilities, six natural gas-fired facilities, seven hydroelectric facilities, and two wind power facilities. SaskPower also buys power from the SunBridge Wind Power Project, Red Lily Wind Project, Meridian Cogeneration Station, Cory Cogeneration Station, and NRGreen Kerrobert, Loreburn, Estlin and Alameda Heat Recovery Projects. SaskPower's total available generation capacity was 4,009 MW.
The Saskpower transmission system utilizes lines carrying 230,000 volts, 138,000 volts and 72,000 volts. SaskPower has interconnections at the Manitoba, Alberta and North Dakota borders.
Rural areas
Incorporated under The Power Corporation Act (1949), SaskPower purchased the majority of the province’s small, independent municipal electrical utilities and integrated them into a province-wide grid. It was also responsible under The Rural Electrification Act (1949) for the electrification of the province’s rural areas, bringing electricity to over 66,000 farms between 1949 and 1966. To manage the high costs of electrifying the province’s sparsely populated rural areas, SaskPower used a large-scale implementation of a single wire ground returnSingle wire earth return
Single wire earth return or single wire ground return is a single-wire transmission line for supplying single-phase electrical power from an electrical grid to remote areas at low cost...
distribution system, claimed to be a pioneering effort (although some utilities in the USA had been using such a system on its rural lines). It was at the time one of the largest such systems in the world. One of the last cities in the province added to SaskPower's system was North Portal in 1971 (which had been served up to this point from Montana-Dakota Utilities' distribution system in Portal, ND just across the border).
Subsidiaries
- NorthPoint Energy Solutions Inc., located in Regina, SaskatchewanRegina, SaskatchewanRegina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
is a wholly owned subsidiary of SaskPower and is SaskPower's wholesale energy marketing agent. NorthPoint began operation on November 1, 2001. NorthPoint handles the export of power on the North American Market.
- SaskPower International Inc. was established in 1994 as a wholly owned subsidiary of SaskPower. SaskPower International has no active operations beyond its joint venture interests in the Cory Cogeneration Station (50% split with ATCO Power) and its investment in the MRM Cogeneration Station (30% SaskPower International and 70% ATCO Power).
- SaskPower Shand Greenhouse is a wholly owned subsidiary of SaskPower located near the Shand Power Station coal-fired plant. The greenhouseGreenhouseA greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
was built in 1991 to offset the environmental impact of burning coal. Using waste heatWaste heatWaste heat sometimes called Secondary heat or Low-grade heat refers to heat produced by machines, electrical equipment and industrial processes for which no useful application is found. Energy is often produced by a heat engine, running on a source of high-temperature heat...
produced by the power plant, it grows nearly 600,000 trees, shrubs and native plants a year that are distributed throughout the province.
Generating facilities
All of SaskPower's generating facilities are located within Saskatchewan, with the exception of the MRM Cogeneration Station, which is located at the Athabasca Oil Sands Project's Muskeg River Mine north of Fort McMurray, Alberta.Owned by SaskPower
| Name | Location | Fuel | Units net capacity (Date) | Capacity (net MW) | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boundary Dam Power Station Boundary Dam Power Station Boundary Dam Power Station is the largest coal fired station owned by SaskPower, located near Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada.- Description :The Boundary Dam Power Station consists of :*two 62 net MW units... |
Estevan | Coal Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure... |
|
828 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Centennial Wind Power Facility Centennial Wind Power Facility The Centennial Wind Power Facility is a SaskPower facility situated in the hills 25 kilometres southeast of Swift Current, Saskatchewan. The 150 megawatt wind farm has 83 turbines, and can produce enough electricity for about 69,000 Saskatchewan homes.... (SaskPower International) |
Near Swift Current | Wind Power Wind power Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships.... |
|
150 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Charlot River Hydroelectric Station Athabasca System Hydroelectric Stations Athabasca System Hydroelectric Stations are a series of small hydroelectric stations on the Charlot River in the Athabasca region owned by SaskPower, located near Uranium City, Saskatchewan, Canada... |
Near Uranium City | Hydroelectric |
|
10 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Coteau Creek Hydroelectric Station Coteau Creek Hydroelectric Station Coteau Creek Hydroelectric Station is a hydroelectric station owned by SaskPower, located near Danielson Provincial Park about 100 km south-west of Saskatoon. The station is on the South Saskatchewan River and draws water from the Gardiner Dam.... |
Near Elbow Elbow, Saskatchewan - See also :* List of communities in Saskatchewan* Villages of Saskatchewan* Elbow-External links:*** Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan-Footnotes:... |
Hydroelectric |
|
186 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Cory Cogeneration Station Cory Cogeneration Station Cory Cogeneration Station is a natural gas fired station owned by SaskPower and ATCO Power as a 50/50 joint venture, located near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The plant operates at 260 MW in a convention generation mode and at 228 MW in a cogeneration mode... (50% Owner) |
PCS Cory Mine Near Saskatoon Saskatoon Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344.... |
Natural Gas Natural gas Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural... |
|
228 MW | Saskpowerinternational.com | |
| Cypress Wind Power Facility | Near Gull Lake Gull Lake, Saskatchewan -History:The history of the Gull Lake community dates back to 1906, when a development company Conrad and Price acquired and surveyed the town site and subdivided it into blocks. Unlike most other towns located along the C.P.R. main line, Gull Lake was not planned and established by the railroad.... |
Wind Power Wind power Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships.... |
|
11 MW | Saskpower.comCanwea.ca | |
| E.B. Campbell Hydroelectric Station E.B. Campbell Hydroelectric Station E.B. Campbell Hydroelectric Station is a hydroelectric station on the Saskatchewan River owned by SaskPower, located near Carrot River, Saskatchewan, Canada. The dam created the artificial Tobin Lake. The station is named after Bruce Campbell, a former president of SaskPower who was also the... |
Near Nipawin | Hydroelectric |
|
288 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Ermine Power Station Ermine Power Station Ermine Power Station is a natural gas fired station owned by SaskPower, under construction located near Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, Canada and operated as a peaking plant. The project underwent environmental assessment in 2008. The project, at a cost of $150M is under construction with an expected... |
Near Kerrobert Kerrobert, Saskatchewan Kerrobert is a town in west central Saskatchewan. Incorporated in 1910, its 2007 population was 1,011. This quaint small town is home of the Kerrobert Tigers. The town is known for its large water tower, clearly visible from 15 kilometres away.... |
Natural Gas Natural gas Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural... |
|
92 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Island Falls Hydroelectric Station Island Falls, Saskatchewan Island Falls is a hydroelectric power station operated by SaskPower, a Saskatchewan crown corporation. It is located on the Churchill River at 55.5° N, 102.4° W, about sixty miles northwest of Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada.... |
Near Sandy Bay Sandy Bay, Saskatchewan Sandy Bay is a community in Saskatchewan, Canada.Sandy Bay is a village in northern Saskatchewan, located 190 km NW of Creighton via the Hanson Lake Road and Highway 135. The community is on the banks of the Churchill River. It is at the end of Highway 135, after passing through Pelican... |
Hydroelectric |
|
101 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Landis Power Station Landis Power Station Landis Power Station is a natural gas fired station owned by SaskPower, located in Landis, Saskatchewan, Canada and operated as a peaking plant.- Description :The Landis Station consists of :* 1 - 79 MW unit, commissioned in 1975 and refurbished in 1999.... |
Near Landis Landis, Saskatchewan Landis is a village in western Saskatchewan, Canada, about 32 miles south of Wilkie and about 80 miles west from Saskatoon on Highway 14. Landis has a population of 400. It is located within the Sun West School Division. From 1907 to 1909, the post office at Section 23, Township 37, Range 18 west... |
Natural Gas Natural gas Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural... |
|
79 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Meadow Lake Power Station Meadow Lake Power Station Meadow Lake Power Station is a natural gas fired station owned by SaskPower, located in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada and operated as a peaking plant.- External links :*... |
Near Meadow Lake Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan Meadow Lake is a city located in north west Saskatchewan, Canada about north east of Lloydminster and north of North Battleford. On November 9, 2009, it officially became Saskatchewan's 14th city.... |
Natural Gas Natural gas Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural... |
|
44 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| MRM Cogeneration Station Muskeg River Mine Cogeneration Station Muskeg River Mine Cogeneration Station is a natural gas fired station owned by SaskPower and ATCO Power , located 75 km north of Fort McMurray and is part of the Albian Sands Project.- Description :... (30% Owner) |
Near Fort McMurray, AB | Natural Gas Natural gas Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural... |
|
172 MW | Saskpowerinternational.com | |
| Nipawin Hydroelectric Station Nipawin Hydroelectric Station Nipawin Hydroelectric Station is a hydroelectric station owned by SaskPower, located near Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada.- Description :The Nipawin Hydroelectric Station consists of :*one Hitachi 85 net MW unit... |
Near Nipawin | Hydroelectric |
|
255 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Poplar River Power Station Poplar River Power Station Poplar River Power Station is a coal fired station owned by SaskPower, located near Coronach, Saskatchewan, Canada.The project to build the station was launched in the fall of 1974, with the Morrison Dam being constructed between 1975 and 1977 to provide cooling water for the station. Work on the... |
Near Coronach Coronach, Saskatchewan Coronach is a community in southern Saskatchewan, Canada near the US border. It was founded in 1926 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and named after Coronach, the horse who had just won the Epsom Derby in England that year... |
Coal Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure... |
|
582 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Shand Power Station Shand Power Station Shand Power Station is a coal fired station owned by SaskPower, located near Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada.- Description :The Shand Power Station consists of :*one 279 net MW unit... |
Near Estevan | Coal Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure... |
|
276 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Success Power Station Success Power Station Success Power Station is a natural gas fired station owned by SaskPower, located in Success, Saskatchewan, Canada and operated as a peaking plant.- External links :*... |
Near Swift Current | Natural Gas Natural gas Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural... |
|
30 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Queen Elizabeth Power Station Queen Elizabeth Power Station Queen Elizabeth Power Station is a natural gas fired station owned by SaskPower, located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The station was called the South Saskatchewan River Generating Station until it was commissioned in 1959 by Queen Elizabeth II when the name was changed.- Description :The... |
Saskatoon Saskatoon Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344.... |
Natural Gas Natural gas Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural... |
|
410 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Waterloo Hydroelectric Station Athabasca System Hydroelectric Stations Athabasca System Hydroelectric Stations are a series of small hydroelectric stations on the Charlot River in the Athabasca region owned by SaskPower, located near Uranium City, Saskatchewan, Canada... |
Near Uranium City | Hydroelectric |
|
8 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Wellington Hydroelectric Station Athabasca System Hydroelectric Stations Athabasca System Hydroelectric Stations are a series of small hydroelectric stations on the Charlot River in the Athabasca region owned by SaskPower, located near Uranium City, Saskatchewan, Canada... |
Near Uranium City | Hydroelectric |
|
5 MW | Saskpower.com | |
| Yellowhead Power Station Yellowhead Power Station Yellowhead Power Station is a natural gas fired station owned by SaskPower, located in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada and operated as a peaking plant. The plant was constructed and commissioned in December 2010 at a cost of $250 M CDN... |
North Battleford North Battleford, Saskatchewan In the late 2000s a large number of Ruthenians have emigrated to Canada, concentrating in North Battleford.-History:Prior to European settlement, the Battlefords area was home to several aboriginal groups... |
Natural Gas Natural gas Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural... |
|
138 MW | Saskpower.com |
Long-term power purchase agreements
SaskPower has also entered into long-term power purchase agreements with privately owned facilities in the province.| Name (Owner) |
Location | Fuel | Units net capacity (Date) | Capacity (net MW) | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRGreen Alameda Heat Recovery Project (NRGreen Power Nrgreen power NRGreen Power Limited Partnership is involved in the commercial development of electrical generation opportunities associated with the Canadian portion of the Alliance Pipeline natural gas system by recovering and converting waste heat at compressor stations and generating it into... ) |
Alameda Alameda, Saskatchewan -See also:* List of communities in Saskatchewan* List of towns in Saskatchewan* List of Canadian tornadoes and tornado outbreaks-References:* Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan... |
Waste Heat |
|
5 MW | |
| NRGreen Estlin Heat Recovery Project (NRGreen Power Nrgreen power NRGreen Power Limited Partnership is involved in the commercial development of electrical generation opportunities associated with the Canadian portion of the Alliance Pipeline natural gas system by recovering and converting waste heat at compressor stations and generating it into... ) |
Estlin | Waste Heat |
|
5 MW | |
| NRGreen Kerrobert Heat Recovery Project (NRGreen Power Nrgreen power NRGreen Power Limited Partnership is involved in the commercial development of electrical generation opportunities associated with the Canadian portion of the Alliance Pipeline natural gas system by recovering and converting waste heat at compressor stations and generating it into... ) |
Kerrobert Kerrobert, Saskatchewan Kerrobert is a town in west central Saskatchewan. Incorporated in 1910, its 2007 population was 1,011. This quaint small town is home of the Kerrobert Tigers. The town is known for its large water tower, clearly visible from 15 kilometres away.... |
Waste Heat |
|
5 MW | |
| Red Lilly Wind Project (Concorde Pacific) |
Near Moosomin | Wind Power Wind power Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships.... |
(2011) |
27 MW | |
| NRGreen Loreburn Heat Recovery Project (NRGreen Power Nrgreen power NRGreen Power Limited Partnership is involved in the commercial development of electrical generation opportunities associated with the Canadian portion of the Alliance Pipeline natural gas system by recovering and converting waste heat at compressor stations and generating it into... ) |
Loreburn Loreburn, Saskatchewan -External links:***-Footnotes:... |
Waste Heat |
|
5 MW | |
| Meridian Cogeneration Station Meridian Power Station Meridian Power Station is a natural gas fired station owned by TransAlta and Husky Energy, located in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada. The station is operated by TransAlta Cogeneration.- Description :... (TransAlta TransAlta TransAlta Corporation is a power generation and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta.TransAlta maintains a low-to-moderate risk profile by operating a highly contracted portfolio of assets in Canada, the United States and Australia... & Husky Oil ) |
Lloydminster Lloydminster Lloydminster is a Canadian city which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan... |
Natural Gas Natural gas Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural... |
(2000) |
210 MW | [] |
| North Battleford Energy Centre North Battleford Energy Centre North Battleford Energy Centre is a natural gas fired station owned by Northland Power, under construction in the Rural Municipality of North Battleford, Saskatchewan located near the city of North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada. The plant will operate under a 20 year power purchase agreement... (Northland Power Northland Power Northland Power Inc. , is a Canadian corporation that currently owns or has an economic interest in nine power generation assets in Canada—primarily Ontario and Québec—Germany, and the United States. Overall, the firm controls assets that generate about 818 MW of electricity. Approximately 80% of... ) |
R.M. North Battleford North Battleford No. 437, Saskatchewan This article is about the rural municipality in Canada. For other places with the same name, see BattlefordNorth Battleford No. 437, Saskatchewan is a rural municipality of 737 rural residents in the northwestern part of Saskatchewan, Canada. It comprises the rural area generally to the north... |
Natural Gas Natural gas Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural... |
(Under construction) (Under construction) |
261 MW | [] |
| Spy Hill Generating Facility Spy Hill Power Plant Spy Hill Power Plant is a natural gas fired station owned by Northland Power, under construction in the Spy Hill, Saskatchewan, Canada. The plant will operate as a power peeking plant, under a 25 year power purchase agreement with SaskPower. Construction started on the project in 2009, with an... (Northland Power Northland Power Northland Power Inc. , is a Canadian corporation that currently owns or has an economic interest in nine power generation assets in Canada—primarily Ontario and Québec—Germany, and the United States. Overall, the firm controls assets that generate about 818 MW of electricity. Approximately 80% of... ) |
Near Esterhazy | Natural Gas Natural gas Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural... |
(Under construction) |
86 MW | Northlandpower.ca |
| SunBridge Wind Power Project SunBridge Wind Farm The SunBridge Wind Farm is a facility situated five kilometres southeast of Gull Lake, Saskatchewan. The facility is owned by Suncor Energy and Enbridge. The wind farm will consists of 17 Vestas V47 wind turbines, for a total capacity of 11.2 MW. The project, completed in 2002, was the first... (Suncor & Enbridge Enbridge Enbridge Inc. is a Calgary, Alberta based company focused on three core businesses: crude oil and liquids pipelines, natural gas transportation and distribution, and green energy. The company has approximately 6,000 employees, mostly in Canada and the United States... ) |
Near Swift Current | Wind Power Wind power Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships.... |
|
11 MW | Suncor.com |
In May, 2010 SaskPower entered into a Feasibility Study Agreement with Brookfield Renewable Power
Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Toronto, Ontario-based asset management company that manages a global portfolio of assets valued at over $150 billion...
, James Smith First Nation
James Smith First Nation
The James Smith First Nation is a Cree First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada. James Smith has one Indian Reserve Fort à la Corne #100 located north of Kinistino, Saskatchewan near Fort de la Corne on the Saskatchewan River. This reserve is shared between three first nations, the other two being the...
, Peter Chapman First Nation, Chakastaypasin Band of the Cree and Kiewit Corporation to conduct a feasibility study on construction of the Pehonan Hydroelectric Project; a 250 MW run-of-river generating station.
Rural electrification
SaskPower was founded by an Act of the provincial legislature as the Saskatchewan Power Commission in 1929. The purpose of the Commission was to research how best to create a provincial power system which would provide the province’s residents with safe, reliable electric service.A provincial power system was desirable for many reasons. In the early days of electricity in the province of Saskatchewan, electricity was largely unavailable outside of larger centres. Most electrical utilities were owned either privately or by municipalities, and none of them were interconnected. Because each utility operated independently, rates often varied significantly between communities – anywhere from 4 to 45 cents per kilowatt hour in the mid 1920s. The rapid growth in the province’s population in the first decades of the century – from 91,279 to 757,510 within 20 years – had led to a sharp increase in the demand for electricity. Finally, the provincial government had determined that the lack of inexpensive power was hampering the development of industry in the province (Ref).
While the Commission began purchasing independently owned electrical utilities with the goal of interconnecting them, the economic situation of the 1930s and the labour shortage caused by the Second World War delayed the creation of a provincial power system for nearly two decades.
By 1948, the Commission operated 35 generating stations and more than 8,800 km of transmission lines. However, most farm families who had electricity generated it themselves using battery systems charged by wind turbines or gasoline- or diesel-powered generators. Across the province, only 1,500 farms were connected to the electrical grid, most of them because of their proximity to the lines that linked cities and larger towns.
In 1949, by an Act of the Provincial Legislature, the Commission became the Saskatchewan Power Corporation. The first task of the new Corporation was to purchase what remained of the province’s small, independent electrical utilities and to begin integrating them into a province-wide electrical grid.
The final step in creating a truly province-wide grid was to electrify the province’s vast rural areas. The primary hurdle to rural electrification was the very low customer density in the province – approximately one farm customer per network mile (1.6 km) – and the extremely high cost of a network of the scale required by the vast distances between customers. After much study, the Corporation adopted a single wire ground return
Single wire earth return
Single wire earth return or single wire ground return is a single-wire transmission line for supplying single-phase electrical power from an electrical grid to remote areas at low cost...
distribution scheme, which lowered the cost of rural electrification significantly.
The first year of the program set the goal of connecting 1200 rural customers to the network. The experience gained during the first years led to an increased rate of connections every year, leading to a peak yearly connection rate in 1956 of 7,800 customers. By 1961, 58,000 farms were connected, and by 1966 when the program concluded, the Corporation had provided power to a total of 66,000 rural customers. In addition, hundreds of schools, churches and community halls received electrical service during this period.
Clean coal feasibility study
SaskPower has studied a "clean coal project". The intention would be to build a coal-fired unit that would effectively capture most carbon dioxide emissions. An oxyfuel system was considered but rejected due to capital cost and uncertainty of the economic value of CO2 reduction. SaskPower announced in 2011 that it would construct a CDN $1.2 billion carbon capture facility at its Boundary Dam Power Station. Part of the construction cost will be offset by revenue from sale of carbon dioxide.Corporate governance
SaskPower is governed by a Board of Directors that is responsible to the Minister Responsible for Saskatchewan Power Corporation. Current directors of the corporation include: Joel Teal (Chair), Bill Wheatley (Vice-Chair), Ian Coutts, Judy Harwood, Mitchell Holash, Nick Kaufman, Bryan Leverick, Mick MacBean, Lorne Mysko, Tammy Cook-Searson, Andy McCreath, and Dale Bloom (Corporate Secretary).Further reading
Print:- Anderson, Dave. To Get the Lights: A Memoir about Farm Electrification in Saskatchewan. Victoria: Trafford, 2005.
- White, Clinton O. Power for a Province: A History of Saskatchewan Power. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 1976.
Online:
- Bassendowski, Sandra. The Power of Electricity to Change Women’s Work in Post-War Saskatchewan.
- Champ, Joan. Rural Electrification in Saskatchewan during the 1950s.
External links
- SaskPower
- Clean Coal Project
- NorthPoint Energy
- SaskPower International
- Shand Greenhouse
- Generating Facilities
- Corporate Profile
- Air Liquide Canada
- Hitachi Canada
- Marubeni
- Babcock & Wilcox Canada
- Neill and Gunter
- Esask.ureinga.ca, Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
- The Saskatchewan Railway MuseumSaskatchewan Railway MuseumThe Saskatchewan Railway Museum is a railway museum located west of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at the intersection of the Pike Lake Highway and the Canadian National Railway tracks...
houses the one of a kind Sask Power Rail Car