Saskatoon city council votes to implement power rebate

Saskatoon’s new city council voted to adopt the Saskatchewan Party’s electricity rebate, ensuring that Saskatoon Light and Power customers pay 10 per cent less from Dec. 1 until Nov. 30, 2021.

Mayor Charlie Clark and the city’s 10 councillors voted unanimously at a special meeting, and the first for the new council, on Monday morning to implement the Saskatchewan Economic Recovery Rebate, a provincial measure the returned Saskatchewan Party promised while on the campaign trail.

Angela Gardiner, the general manager of the city’s utilities and environment department, told the council the measure is needed so that customers of the city-owned utility company will receive the same savings customers of the provincial corporation are set to receive.

“Essentially, customers of SaskPower will receive a 10 per cent rebate on their electrical charges… Saskatoon Light and Power has historically set rates to match SaskPower to ensure there are no inequities between citizens in Saskatoon regardless of their electrical service provider,” she said, speaking to the virtual session.

She also said the rebate applies to all civic facilities and programs, which she projected would save the city around $1.8 million in total, since SaskPower will offset the cost for the city.

She said a city official will bring a proposal for a bylaw amendment to the next city council meeting, scheduled for Monday, Nov. 30, to ensure the changes take effect by Dec. 1.

“It’s great to know we will be able to pass this on to our customers and also be kept whole as a city,” Clark said after the motion had passed.

The Saskatchewan Party platform said the rebate will save the average residential customer $215 per year and the average farm customer $845 per year.

With files from David Giles