At their monthly meeting Wednesday Saskatoon City Council, as expected, approved a 3.9 per cent electrical rate increase effective February 1st this year and a further 3.9 per cent increase effective February 1, 2027. The increase will align with SaskPower’s proposed rate adjustments.

Also, in alignment with SaskPower, the expected increases as of this Sunday will be implemented on an interim basis. This will be in place until final approval is received from the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel following the public rate review process, which is expected to conclude this summer.

For an average residential customer, the monthly bill is expected to increase by $5.61 in February 2026 and an additional $5.85 in February 2027. In a news release the City of Saskatoon says the impact for commercial customers will vary based on their rate category and electricity consumption.

Saskatoon Light & Power (SL&P), as a reseller of electricity, matches its power rates to those set by SaskPower. The City says this ensures equitable rates between utility customers in Saskatoon regardless of whether they live within SL&P’s service area or SaskPower’s.

The previous general electricity rate increase occurred on April 1, 2023, when a system-wide average increase of 4 per cent came into effect. Since then, the Carbon Charge was updated annually until April 1, 2025, when the Government of Saskatchewan suspended it temporarily.

According to the application to the rate review panel SaskPower’s reasons for the increase include increased capital investments, operating, maintenance, fuel, and administration expenses.