The Manitoba and Saskatchewan governments today announced a deal for SaskPower to purchase an additional $100 million of electricity from Manitoba Hydro over the next eight years.
“With Saskatchewan’s economy growing fast, demand for electricity has been increasing at more than twice the historical average,” said Minister Responsible for SaskPower Bill Boyd. “I’m pleased SaskPower has reached an agreement with Manitoba Hydro that will add clean, affordable electricity to the Saskatchewan grid and help the province’s economy with power to grow for many years to come.”
“Manitoba Hydro power is in high demand, not only in our traditional export markets in the United States, but increasingly among our western neighbours as well,” said Municipal Government Minister Stan Struthers, minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro. “This sale will help us keep rates low for Manitoba families and businesses, and create thousands of good jobs as we work towards a reliable western Canadian energy grid for future sales.”
The deal is the single-largest power sale agreement between Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
SaskPower and Manitoba Hydro also announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding on a much larger 500 megawatts purchase after 2020.
“We’re working with our neighbours to plan for Saskatchewan’s future growth collaboratively,” said Robert Watson, SaskPower President and CEO. “Our goal is to ensure that the demand for power is met consistently across the province, and that we’re making use of resources that are affordable and renewable.”
“SaskPower’s interest in securing hydroelectricity from Manitoba matches our plans to build new dams and transmission lines to ensure there’ll be enough power in the next decade when Manitobans need it,” said Scott Thomson, President and CEO of Manitoba Hydro. “We look forward to working with SaskPower to build on the history of electricity trade with Saskatchewan as we develop the initiatives outlined under this MOU.”
The MOU will also allow the two utilities to share experiences and knowledge on a variety of other issues of mutual interest including Aboriginal relations, electricity efficiency measures and employee recruitment and retention.
