Province eases rules on sale of electricity to Saskpower

With an eye on reducing carbon emissions, the Saskatchewan government is planning to make it easier to sell power to Saskpower.

Announced Wednesday, the Power Generation Partner Program (PGPP) — which replaces the Small Power Producers program and the Flare Gas Power Generation program — is a two-year plan, with an option to extend it to three and allows customers to develop “power generation projects” to sell electricity to Saskpower.

Environment and Saskpower Minister Dustin Duncan says the new program was developed after a “significant amount of consultation.” He says the program will bring anywhere between 70 and 105 MWS of new power onto the province’s grid.

Duncan said stakeholders raised concerns over caps on the amount of power the Crown would purchase under the two previous programs.

“That certainly caused some pause, particularly on the industry side,” he said, noting companies have to make an investment in order to generate power for the

grid, and under the previous program the dollars involved in that “didn’t make sense.”

He is expecting “much greater uptake” under the new plan, in part because the amount of power the Crown will purchase is being increased. Every year, the PGPP will accept up to 10 megawatts of renewable generation, like solar, and 25 megawatts of carbon-neutral non-renewable generation, like flare gas. Applications will be accepted on an annual basis. This year’s application window runs from Nov. 15 to 30.

Duncan says on the industry side, the program will “not really be seen as a revenue generator,” but as a way for companies to reduce or negate their own emissions. That will likely come in the form of carbon-neutral, non-renewable power generation coming from flare gas. The idea being companies will invest money to be able to sell power from flare gas back to Saskpower rather than allow it to be a pollutant.

In order for that plan to be financially feasible for companies, Duncan says, industry will “need a buyer for that gas in order for it to make sense.”

Under this program, Saskpower will be that buyer.

On the renewable generation side of the program, Duncan is expecting some Saskpower customers, as well as some municipalities, to invest.

Duncan admitted the power purchased under the program will be at a “bit of a premium” but said that will be “managed through the rates by Saskpower.”

An updated New Metering Program, where customers receive rebates when they generate renewable electricity to offset their own power use, will be announced later this year.