Saskatchewan's carbon tax rider is going up at the start of the new year as the federal government's rate increases.

The federal carbon tax applied to SaskPower’s carbon emissions will increase from $65 to $80 per tonne of CO2 emissions effective January 1, 2024.

The accompanying rate rider on SaskPower bills will require an average increase of 0.5 per cent to cover this increase.

Any specific amount charged per customer will vary depending on their power consumption and rate class.

An average residential customer will see an increase of $5 during the year, bringing their total federal carbon tax bill for the year to $85 according to the province.

The average farm customer will see an increase of $13, for a total federal carbon tax bill of $238 in 2024.

“SaskPower is continuing to change the way we generate power, and while we are still required to collect the carbon tax, several factors have helped us to keep the increase lower in 2024,” said Rupen Pandya, SaskPower President & CEO.

“For example, next year we expect the Great Plains Power Station to come online, providing the province with 377 MW of lower-carbon baseload power. We are also continuing to invest in renewables, with the 200 MW Bekevar Wind Facility also expected to come online by the end of the year.”

The provincial government recently announced that they would stop collecting that carbon tax on electrical home heating bills, which covers roughly 30,000 people in the province.

SaskEnergy will also no longer be collecting carbon tax, with the province saying that will save the average Saskatchewan family approximately $400 in 2024.

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