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Saskatoon Light & Power customers will now see a cheaper electric bill.
At a meeting on Tuesday morning, city council unanimously voted to suspend the carbon tax on light and power bills, effective from Tuesday through December 31.
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A typical residential customer will see their rates drop by 6.79 per cent, saving an estimated $10.46 per month.
Additionally, other services such as street lighting will see rates go down by about 2.3 per cent, and rates for unmetered services will drop by about 5.3 per cent.
The decision follows the provincial government’s move to pause its industrial carbon charge on electricity, which also takes effect on Tuesday. Saskatoon Light & Power made the change to ensure its customers are not overcharged when compared to SaskPower customers.
According to the approval report presented to council, the power company expects to save just over a quarter million dollars by dropping the tax, even though its projected revenue is expected to decline by $11.9 million. The drop in revenue will be balanced out by a $1.2 million decrease in grants-in-lieu payments and a $9.2 million reduction in bulk power costs.
“Together, these offsets result in a net surplus for SL&P,” the report noted.
Saskatoon Light & Power director Trevor Bell, who presented the report to council on Tuesday, also recommended an exemption bylaw to pause the carbon tax. which city council unanimously approved.
“This type of by law requires a start and an end date. We have arbitrarily chosen for it to extend to the end of 2025,” Bell said.
“We anticipate that once the federal election is over, the Government of Saskatchewan will provide more direction on whether the carbon charge will resume or be removed permanently.”
Canada’s federal election is set for April 28.
