Carbon tax causing SaskPower bills to increase Jan. 1

The federal carbon tax is to increase on Jan. 1, so SaskPower customers can expect their bills to go up that day as well.

The Crown corporation noted Friday that the carbon tax applied to SaskPower’s fossil fuel emissions is to increase from $20 per tonne to $30 per tonne on New Year’s Day.

As a result of the increase, SaskPower estimates that its residential customers will pay an average of $22 more in 2020 while farmers can expect to pay $60 more next year. The company cautioned the specific amount charged per customer will vary depending on consumption.

“While SaskPower has not increased rates in 2019, the Federal Carbon Tax means all SaskPower customers will pay more each month,” Dustin Duncan, Saskatchewan’s minister responsible for SaskPower, said in a media release.

The federal government has scheduled annual increases until January of 2022, when the carbon tax is to reach $50 per tonne. According to SaskPower, it will have to collect $122 million in 2020 — up from the $62 million it collected in 2019.

Saskatchewan is challenging the carbon tax in court, but SaskPower still has to collect the tax while the case makes its way through the system. If the province wins its challenge, the tax will be returned to customers.