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SaskPower

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SaskPower is the principal supplier of electricity in Saskatchewan, Canada. Saskpower is a Crown corporation, owned by the Government of Saskatchewan, with 431,000-plus customers. SaskPower employees, represented by the IBEW 2067 union, operate most power stations. Over 150,000 kilometres of power lines are maintained throughout the Province. SaskPower supplies about three customers per circuit kilometre, while most utilities in North America average about 12 customers over the same distance.

The three core generating stations are coal fired. Boundary Dam, located near Estevan, produces 813 megawatts from six units. Shand, also located near Estevan, is cited as a "New Generation" coal plant which produces less nitrogen oxide and emits less fly ash into the atmosphere. Shand produces 279 megawatts from one unit; but has future upgrade capacity to two units. The Poplar River Plant, near Coronach is rated at 562 megawatts from two units, but frequently generates in excess of 600MW to the Saskatchewan electrical grid.

Additionally; Saskpower owns and operates hydroelectric power stations, natural gas fired peaking stations, and wind power facilty.

On an unusual historical note, the Saskatchewan Railway Museum houses the one of a kind Sask Power Rail Car built in 1928 and last used in the early 1960s. The car was intended to be used as a portable emergency generator. The car is equipped with a 300 horse power diesel engine and AC generator. [1]

Generating Facilities

Facilities are located within Saskatchewan (with the exception of MRM). SaskPower either owns the facilities directly or through it's subsidiary SaskPower International. SaskPower International also has two joint ventures Cory (50% split with ATCO Power) and the MRM ( 30% SaskPower International Inc. and 70% ATCO Power). SunBridge is jointly owned by Suncor and Enbridge with SaskPower purchasing the power production.

Name Location Fuel Units net capacity (Date) Capacity (net MW) Link
Boundary Dam Estevan Coal
  • two 63 MW units (1959)
  • two 139 MW units (1970)
  • one 139 MW unit (1973)
  • one 273 MW unit (1978)
 813 MW [2]
Centennial

(SaskPower International)

Swift Current Wind Power 150 MW [3]
Charlot River Uranium City Hydroelectric
  • two 5 MW units (1980)
 10 MW [4]
Coteau Creek Elbow Hydroelectric
  • three 62 MW units (1958)
 185 MW [5]
Cory Cogeneration

(50% Owner)

PCS Cory Mine

Saskatoon

Natural Gas
  • two 85 MW units (2003)
  • one 90 MW unit (2003)
 228 MW [6]
Cypress Hills Gull Lake Wind Power
  • nine turbines (2002)
  • seven turbines (2003)
 11 MW [7]
E.B. Campbell Nipawin Hydroelectric
  • six 32 MW units (1963/64)
  • two 42 MW units (1966)
 288 MW [8]
Island Falls Sandy Bay Hydroelectric
  • three units (1929/30)
  • one unit (1936)
  • one unit (1938)
  • one unit (1947)
  • one unit (1959)
 101 MW [9]
Landis Landis Natural Gas
  • one 79 MW unit (1975, refurb. 1999)
 79 MW [10]
Meadow Lake Meadow Lake Natural Gas
  • one 44 MW unit (1984)
 44 MW [11]
MRM Cogeneration

(30% Owner)

Fort McMurray, AB Natural Gas
  • two 85 MW unit (2003)
 170 MW [12]
Nipawin Nipawin Hydroelectric
  • one 85 MW units (1985)
  • two 85 MW units (1986)
 255 MW [13]
Poplar River Coronach Coal
  • one 281 MV unit (1981)
  • one 281 MV unit (1983)
 562 MW [14]
Shand Estevan Coal
  • one 279 net MW unit (1992)
 279 MW [15]
Success Swift Current Natural Gas
  • three 10 MW unit (1967/8)
 30 MW [16]
SunBridge

(Suncor & Enbridge)

Gull Lake Wind Power
  • 17 Vesta turbines (2002)
 11 MW [17]
Queen Elizabeth Saskatoon Natural Gas
  • one 60 MW unit (1959)
  • one 63 MW unit (1959)
  • one 95 MW unit (1971)
  • six 25 MW units (2002)
 386 MW [18]
Waterloo Uranium City Hydroelectric
  • one 8 MW unit (1961)
 8 MW [19]
Wellington Uranium City Hydroelectric
  • one 2.4 MW unit (1939)
  • one 2.4 MW unit (1959)
 4.8 MW [20]

Recent and historical scandals involving SaskPower

  • Botched Channel Lake sale and other affairs leading to the dismissal of its CEO, Jack Messer. [citation needed]
  • Guyana [citation needed]
  • 1998 lockout of IBEW 2067 workers and subsequent conviction for unfair labour practices against the union. [citation needed]
  • The 1998 firing of a long-term employee who diligently served in the role of diversity coordinator by an incompetent, dishonest, overweight and manipulative political appointee (who was later, himself, fired). [citation needed]
  • Guilty plea for failing to protect the safety of its workers in 2003. [citation needed]
  • Strong-arm tactics used during CQ2 and PA8 transmission line expropriation proceedings. [citation needed]
  • Crane accident due to negligence (improperly installed bolts) during construction of the Shand Power Station where victims families were treated very poorly in their quest for appropriate compensation. [citation needed]
  • Island Falls compensation issues. [citation needed]
  • Publication of the salaries of individual employees as an attempt to intimidate the unions representing them during contract negotiations. [citation needed]
  • The Nexen-owned/constructed transmission line court proceedings. [citation needed]
  • Theft of a hard drive containing personal customer information from a company outsourced to perform billing. [citation needed]
  • Revelation of April, 2006 that a manager may have fradulently appropriated approximately $100,000 of taxpayer's money. [citation needed]
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