January 19, 2012 – Yesterday, Saskatchewan set a new record for electricity use: a total of 3265 MW were used at 6:37 pm. The previous consumption record of 3231 MW was set December 14, 2009.

“This record confirms just how crucial our government’s commitment to electrical infrastructure investments is… infrastructure that is needed to ensure reliable and affordable energy for Saskatchewan communities and to sustain the province’s economic momentum,” said Rob Norris, minister responsible for SaskPower.

SaskPower president Robert Watson said the company has a long-term plan to have generation capacity in place, and ensure that its system of 157,000 km of powerlines is in peak condition to deliver that power to customers.

“With a rapidly developing resource economy, building, renewing and replacing transmission and distribution infrastructure is a top priority,” Watson said.

SaskPower’s immediate infrastructure renewal plans include:

• The North Battleford Energy Centre: a new 261 MW natural gas power station (now under construction) scheduled to open in 2013. The facility will be built and operated by Northland Power.
• committing to invest more than $550 million to add 200 MW of natural gas generation at Queen Elizabeth Power Station in Saskatoon by 2015.