Saskatoon Electricity Retailers and Natural Gas Providers
The entirety of the city of Saskatoon receives its electricity from regulated energy utilities. The core of the city falling within the boundaries as they existed in 1958 are serviced by Saskatoon Light & Power, with the exception of the University of Saskatoon. The university, and outlying areas annexed in the past 60 years receive their electricity from SaskPower.
SaskEnergy is the regulated natural gas distributor that serves the residents of Saskatoon, and the rest of Saskatchewan. However, residential and commercial customers that consume less than 660,000 cubic meters of gas per year are afforded the option to purchase their natural gas from an independent natural gas retailer, instead of SaskEnergy. Currently, the authorized gas retailers serving Saskatoon include:
Residents of Saskatoon are advised to explore the options open to them, as retailers often offer natural gas rates lower than those charged by SaskEnergy. Click the links above to learn more about Saskatoon’s natural gas providers, and the types of plans they offer, which may include fixed rate, variable rate, and fixed monthly plans. To learn what rates are currently available, fill out our energy rate comparison form above.
Saskatoon Electricity and Natural Gas History
Originally founded in 1882 by members of the Methodist Temperance Colonization Society of Toronto who wished to establish a ‘dry’ community, Saskatoon was established as a city in 1906. The newly formed city council authorized the construction of an electrical network, as well as water and sanitation systems. The construction of the Saskatoon Power House, the city’s first power plant, was completed systems the same year.
The original Saskatoon Power House, built at Spadina Crescent and Avenue H, marked the founding of what is now the city-owned Saskatoon Light & Power utility company. The plant was later incorporated into the municipal waterworks. Meanwhile, while many parts of Canada were quick to adopt natural gas as heating and power solution, Saskatoon relied heavily on oil. In fact, the area’s consumption of natural gas did not surpass oil until the 1980s.
The city’s electrical production ramped up with the completion of the Saskatoon Power Plant in 1912, which replaced the older station and was acquired by the provincial Saskatchewan Power Corporation (now SaskPower) in November 1928, and later renamed as the A.L. Cole Power Station. The plant was further expanded in the 1950s, but was relegated to serving as a source of back-up power after the completion of the natural gas-fueled Queen Elizabeth Power Station. The A.L. Cole Power Station was decommissioned in 1983, and demolished in 1996, thought the pumphouse which supplied water from the South Saskatchewan River to cool the plant’s generators still stands today.
Today, the vast majority of Saskatoon’s electricity is sourced from two natural gas-powered plants, the Queen Elizabeth Power Station and Cory Cogeneration Station, which together produce about 690 megawatts of electricity.
