If you live in Saskatchewan and rely on natural gas for your home, then you’re in luck: Saskatchewan has been relaxing the regulations surrounding its natural gas markets for the past few years, and that’s opened the door for more retailers to offer more varied and competitive plans for residential natural gas in Saskatchewan. It’s a similar story to the deregulation of the energy market in Alberta: once the door is opened to new and expanding businesses, the amount of competition among those new and pre-existing businesses increases as they each vie for the client. That’s a very good thing for the consumer; in order to sway you to their side, the providers have been focusing on catering plans to your needs, so while you may be in a more competitive market that can ultimately offer you a lower rate on natural gas, you also have the opportunity to look into a variety of different rate plans to see which is the most compatible with your energy consumption needs and lifestyle.
Did you think you were stuck with your regulated service?
A lot of Saskatchewan residents have felt the only option was the regulated energy services offered by SaskEnergy. However, as more and more people are learning about the alternative—retail natural gas in Saskatchewan—they are finding themselves liberated from their regulated rate woes.
Who are the providers of retail natural gas in Saskatchewan?
A couple of companies have created specialized solutions for residential consumers. If you are looking for retail natural gas in Saskatchewan, try looking into Future Now Energy and Just Energy. Each offers rate plans that will cater to residential natural gas needs—but let’s take a closer look:
- Future Now Energy, a full-service, family-owned and operated supplier of retail natural gas in Saskatchewan, offers variable-rate plans to both residential and commercial customers. The company also offers a customer rebate program: they use their ability to purchase supplies at low points during the year to accumulate savings that are then converted into rebates (equivalent to 10 percent of a customer’s gas charge, excluding taxes and fees). These are paid between one and four times a year.
- Just Energy, a third-party energy supplier that is now also breaking into the green energy market, is one of the largest providers of retail natural gas in Saskatchewan as well as in Canada. The company offers a variety of different natural gas rate plans, including fixed price, variable price, and fixed monthly contracts.
Which company should you choose?
Ultimately, you want to choose the provider of retail natural gas in Saskatchewan who offers you the plans that actually work for your natural gas needs. Once you know what those needs are, you can compare the different plans to determine which will work best for you.
Deregulation in Saskatchewan: Understand how the deregulated energy market works in the province
In Saskatchewan, natural gas has been deregulated since 1987. What deregulation means is that consumers in Saskatchewan can change their natural gas supplier to one of their choosing. The ability to choose your own natural gas supplier helps maintain a competitive market for natural gas suppliers, allowing consumers to get a better price on natural gas. However, energy deregulation in Saskatchewan only applies to natural gas.
Electricity has not been deregulated in Saskatchewan and remains provided by SaskPower.
The reason electricity remains regulated is that, historically, Saskatchewan has a low population. In order to provide all residents with electricity, the Saskatchewan Power Commission (now known as SaskPower) was established to create a transmission and distribution network for electricity that would reach all residents of Saskatchewan.
At EnergyRates.ca, you can learn more about what natural gas retailers are available to suit your needs in Saskatchewan. You can also find out more information about Saskatchewan natural gas and electricity bills here, such as how the charges on your bill are calculated and their meaning.
