Don’t expect any natural gas increases for the next couple of years.
SaskEnergy minister Bronwyn Eyre made the statement while delivering the Crown’s year-end numbers at the Legislature. Those numbers show the company paying a dividend of $60 million to the Crown Investments Corporation.
“SaskEnergy has already reduced its commodity rates to their lowest level in 20 years. ” Eyre said. “Based on current market forecasts, the corporation anticipates that there will be no commodity rate increases for at least the next two years, which is good news for customers.”
While those commodity rates were at the levels they were, the reality is customers aren’t seeing that, but Eyre says the reason is simple.
“We did see a decrease of I believe 94 dollars or so per average customer.” Eyre said. “It has been eclipsed though by the carbon tax.”
The provincial NDP is glad to see the dividend from SaskEnergy and says this is reason why talk of selling off Crowns should stop and that they should stay public.
“With the recent sale of the Coleville and Kisbey Gas Plants to an out-of-province company, we know that this government is not afraid to sell off public assets that deliver millions of dollars to the public coffers,” said SaskEnergy Critic Danielle Chartier. “The track record of the Sask. Party selling off Crowns leaves us very concerned for their future, and in this annual report we see yet again just how important it is that we keep the Crowns in public hands.”
