How SaskPower is shaping Canada’s energy future while ensuring reliability for its customers
Established in 1929, SaskPower operates one of Canada’s largest grids. The company is responsible for serving more than 550,000 customer accounts within the province of Saskatchewan’s large geographic area of approximately 652,000 square kilometers – nearly the size of the state of Texas. To serve these customers, the company maintains more than 160,000 circuit km of power lines, 65 high voltage switching stations and 191 distribution substations. About three customer accounts are served per circuit km, which is a low customer density compared to other jurisdictions.
In total, SaskPower has 5,927 megawatts of generating capacity, including 2,434 MW of natural gas, 1,389 MW of coal, 863 MW of hydro, 818 MW of wind and 30 MW of utility scale solar.
Copyright 2010 Ron Garnett / AirScapes.ca
SaskPower’s mission statement is to ensure reliable and affordable power for its customers and the communities it serves. Saskatchewan is a major exporter of potash, uranium, oil and many agricultural products, and in fact one in three jobs in the province are tied directly to exports. For nearly a century, SaskPower has helped to grow Saskatchewan into what it is today by supporting industry and improving quality of life for everyone.
In terms of financial health, SaskPower maintained a strong balance sheet during the most recent fiscal year while investing a record $1.5 billion to modernize, grow and sustain the provincial electricity system.
SaskPower is projecting that power demand will massively increase over the next two decades, and the provincial government has directed the company to take an all-of-the above approach to meeting this unprecedented demand growth. SaskPower has added hundreds of megawatts of new renewable power generation, new natural gas plants, and biomass. The company also continues to examine the potential for nuclear power from small modular reactors (SMRs) and is expanding its interconnection with the United States to increase import and export opportunities.
Renewable energy projects will continue to be part of its energy mix in the coming years. SaskPower currently has 300 MW of wind and solar projects currently in development to be added to the grid in south-central Saskatchewan by 2027.
This is in addition to the 100 MW Iyuhána solar project, which will begin construction on SaskPower land in the Estevan area this year, and the 200 MW Seven Stars Wind Energy Project, which will be owned and operated by Enbridge in partnership with five first nations and Metis Nation-Saskatchewan.
Renewable power projects will continue to have a strong Indigenous equity ownership component, with a minimum requirement of ten per cent, and a target of 30 per cent.
Going forward, SaskPower’s priority will be reliable and affordable power generation along with energy security. In June 2025, the government of Saskatchewan directed SaskPower to extend the life of its coal-fired power units at Boundary Dam, Shand and Poplar River power stations. Saskatchewan has large reserves of Crown-owned coal, and the certainty and security of coal means that it will continue as a pillar of its electrical generation system as the province bridges to a nuclear future powered by Saskatchewan uranium.
This decision will position Saskatchewan at the center of the North American energy grid with options for export and for the potential attraction of new investments that are large scale users of electricity. 
Saskatchewan made history in 2014 when Boundary Dam Power Station’s Unit 3 (BD3) became the world’s first power plant to successfully use carbon capture and storage technology. During a decade of operation SaskPower’s CCS facility has captured nearly 6.9 million tonnes of CO2. That CO2 is used for enhanced oil recovery, supporting nearby oilfield operations and in turn providing an economic boost. Combining CCS with enhanced oil recovery results in 82 per cent fewer emissions than traditional oil and gas extraction.
Today, BD3 has achieved stable, sustainable operations and maintains the lowest emissions intensity of any coal unit in the world. In the 12-month period between August 2023 and 2024, the CCS facility captured more than 900,000 tonnes of CO2 for the first time. As of March 31, BD3 completed its third-consecutive fiscal year with more than 800,000 tonnes of CO2 captured. This project has made Saskatchewan a world-leader in carbon capture and storage technology.
Shand Power Station is home to the Shand Greenhouse, which is heated by recycled waste heat from the power plant during the winter months, allowing it to grow seedlings year-round. To date, the greenhouse has grown and distributed more than 12.5 million seedlings to rural customers to establish shelterbelts or to help support conservation projects. In 2024-25 the greenhouse produced approximately 540,000 seedlings of 24 plant varieties.
SaskPower continues to offer efficiency programs to support affordability such as the Energy Assistance Program, which provides lower income customers with energy-efficiency upgrades to help reduce bills, the Home Efficiency Retrofit Rebate, which is administered in partnership with SaskEnergy and provides eligible customers with a rebate of up to $1,800 for energy efficient home upgrades; and the Commercial Energy Optimization Program, which provides business with free energy-efficiency consultations to reduce operational costs.
SaskPower also offers Indigenous-specific supports such as the Northern First Nations Home Retrofit Program, which partners with First Nations to install energy efficient home upgrades, and the Indigenous New Homes Rebate, which offers financial support to communities to help make new home builds more energy efficient during construction.
SaskPower could not achieve all these things without its people, and it continues to be recognized as an employer of choice. In 2024 the company has received awards and designations including Saskatchewan’s Top Employers and Canada’s Top Employers for Young People.
As SaskPower looks to the future, its investments will continue to be focused on strengthening Saskatchewan’s electricity system and ensuring a stable supply of reliable, affordable power for all customers.