Latest news with #SaskPower
CTV News
08-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Saskatoon streets flooded after weekend storms
WATCH: Another summer storm swept through Saskatoon, leaving streets flooded and people in the dark. WATCH: Another summer storm swept through Saskatoon, leaving streets flooded and people in the dark. A sizable thunderstorm made its way through Saskatoon on Sunday night, and many residents felt the effects. 'Heavy rains like this in the summertime in particular... in cities, we do see urban flash flooding or pooling of water on the do see this happen in cities right across Canada,' said Crawford Luke, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. Luke shared that depending on the area, Saskatoon saw between 23 to 37 millimeters of rain thanks to the storm. Around 20,000 residents also experienced power outages after a bolt of lightning struck a power line, according to Saskatoon Light & Power. 'There's always a chance that our infrastructure will be impacted by severe weather,' Scott McGregor, a spokesperson for SaskPower said. McGregor went on to say that lightning striking power lines is not uncommon, especially during July — the height of summer storm season. 'Usually whenever a lightning strike happens to one of our power lines, it throws a breaker, much like you would have inside of your home. If you were to plug something in incorrectly, it would throw the breaker on your panel so that's what happened with our transmission line' McGregor said. As thunderstorm season settles into Saskatchewan, residents are reminded to be especially careful around damaged power lines, 'High winds, lightning, anything like that, there's a chance that people could come across anything like a damaged pole or down line, stay back a safe distance, we recommend 10 meters or 33 feet,' McGregor said. Anyone who comes across a damaged power line or pole is asked to call the SaskPower outage centre or 911. 'There's no way of knowing if that line is electrified still or not,' McGregor said.
Economic Times
05-07-2025
- Climate
- Economic Times
Wildfire cuts off remote Canadian village, 700 people stranded as airlifts and boat rescues begin
A fast-moving wildfire has isolated Patuanak, a remote Indigenous community in northern Saskatchewan, after severing its only road access. Emergency responders and supply trucks are blocked, complicating medical access and resupply efforts. While the community is not under direct threat, precautions are being taken, including flying in supplies and evacuating residents with complex health needs. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Around 700 residents of a small northern Saskatchewan hamlet are stranded after a fast-moving wildfire severed the only road connecting them to the outside a remote Indigenous community 425 kilometers north of Saskatoon, became isolated this week when flames engulfed sections of Highway 918, its sole road access point. Officials say the blaze has blocked entry for emergency responders, supply trucks, and families trying to escape.'Essentially they are safe, but they are cut off,' said Candyce Paul, the emergency management coordinator for English River First Nation, which governs the community is not under direct threat from flames, the closest wildfire remains about 60 kilometers away, and the road closure has complicated medical access and resupply efforts. Electricity was briefly lost when power poles were scorched, but SaskPower crews quickly restored keep residents safe, supplies including medications have been flown in, and nurses have traveled by boat to reach the community. Paul says many with complex health needs were evacuated to Cold Lake, Alberta before the road was fully cut off.'The ones that needed to be evacuated, they are 90 percent out,' Paul told CBC nearby Beauval, a village roughly 90 kilometers south of Patuanak, the situation remains tense. The village has blocked road access to prevent non-essential personnel from entering, with over 75 percent of its population now Post issued red alerts for both Patuanak and Beauval, with mail services disrupted due to transportation delays. The post office in Beauval is shut down of Friday, Saskatchewan reported 63 active wildfires, 17 not yet contained, and a total of 334 fires so far this season, significantly above the five-year average of 195. The government has issued over $5.5 million in emergency aid, including $500 payments to adults forced to flee their homes.'We have a team operating up there as well,' Paul said. 'Our emergency management team is making preparations for any scenario that comes up.'
Time of India
05-07-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Wildfire cuts off remote Canadian village, 700 people stranded as airlifts and boat rescues begin
Around 700 residents of a small northern Saskatchewan hamlet are stranded after a fast-moving wildfire severed the only road connecting them to the outside world. Patuanak, a remote Indigenous community 425 kilometers north of Saskatoon, became isolated this week when flames engulfed sections of Highway 918, its sole road access point. Officials say the blaze has blocked entry for emergency responders, supply trucks, and families trying to escape. 'Essentially they are safe, but they are cut off,' said Candyce Paul, the emergency management coordinator for English River First Nation, which governs Patuanak. While the community is not under direct threat from flames, the closest wildfire remains about 60 kilometers away, and the road closure has complicated medical access and resupply efforts. Electricity was briefly lost when power poles were scorched, but SaskPower crews quickly restored service. To keep residents safe, supplies including medications have been flown in, and nurses have traveled by boat to reach the community. Paul says many with complex health needs were evacuated to Cold Lake, Alberta before the road was fully cut off. Live Events 'The ones that needed to be evacuated, they are 90 percent out,' Paul told CBC News. In nearby Beauval, a village roughly 90 kilometers south of Patuanak, the situation remains tense. The village has blocked road access to prevent non-essential personnel from entering, with over 75 percent of its population now evacuated. Canada Post issued red alerts for both Patuanak and Beauval, with mail services disrupted due to transportation delays. The post office in Beauval is shut down entirely. As of Friday, Saskatchewan reported 63 active wildfires, 17 not yet contained, and a total of 334 fires so far this season, significantly above the five-year average of 195. The government has issued over $5.5 million in emergency aid, including $500 payments to adults forced to flee their homes. 'We have a team operating up there as well,' Paul said. 'Our emergency management team is making preparations for any scenario that comes up.'
CBC
04-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
700 people stranded in northern Sask. community after wildfire blocks road
Social Sharing About 700 people in a small hamlet in northern Saskatchewan are stranded Friday after a wildfire knocked out the only road into their community. Poor internet connection? CBC Lite is our low-bandwidth website. Patuanak, a hamlet about 500 kilometres north of Saskatoon and 100 kilometres north of recently evacuated Beauval, Sask., is typically only accessible by road via Highway 918. This week the highway was cut off by a wildfire, preventing people from leaving, and blocking direct access to supplies and emergency crews. "Essentially they are safe but they are cut off," said Candyce Paul, emergency management co-ordinator for the English River First Nation, which Patuanak is a part of. "They had lost power once as poles got burned, but SaskPower was quickly able to protect the road enough to restore the power." Speaking from the La Plonge Reserve just outside Beauval, Paul said there isn't any immediate danger to Patuanak from wildfires or heavy smoke. The nearest wildfire, she said, was still around 60 kilometres away. "Medical services are all up there. There's an airport up there. We have a team operating up there as well. Our emergency management team is making preparations for any scenario that comes up." Paul said essentials like pharmaceuticals have been brought in by air, while a team of nurses was able to travel to the community by boat. Many community members with complex medical needs were able to leave before the road was cut off, Paul said, many of them taking refute in Cold Lake, Alta. "The ones that needed to be evacuated, they are 90 per cent out," Paul said. On Friday morning, the English River First Nation emergency management team announced that La Plonge had been fully evacuated. Beauval closes road Meanwhile, the town of Beauval announced it had blocked the road into the community to prevent non-essential personnel from entering. Traffic will still be allowed to exit the community, which is now more than 75 per cent evacuated. The town also announced that the Travelodge in Saskatoon being used as a muster point is now full. Evacuees will be assigned to new hotels.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sask. NDP warns of bill hikes as Crown corporations report drop in net earnings
The CEO of SaskPower says customers can expect rate increases as the Crown corporation faces rising demand and pressure on its infrastructure. In the release of Crown corporation annual reports on Monday, SaskPower reported net earnings of $75.7 million in 2024-25, down $108.9 million from the previous year. It attributes the decrease to power electricity exports and customer contributions. SaskPower's spending also dropped, mainly due to lower fuel and purchased power costs. CEO Rupen Pandya said demand on the grid is expected to double by 2050, requiring major investment. "Between 2025 and 2050, to deploy another 5,000 or 6,000 megawatts of power will be an unprecedented challenge," Pandya said. He said demand from electric vehicles, AI data centres and industrial growth are driving that projection. Pandya said that future rate increases are expected, but will they go through the Rate Review Panel before being implemented. "We hope to keep those as modest as possible," he said. Saskatchewan's crown corporations reported the highest ever capital spending and record revenues in 2024-25; however, net earnings declined compared to the previous year, according to the Crown Investments Corporation's (CIC) annual report. CIC functions as a holding company for the various Crown corporations in the province, such as SaskTel and Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan. The government says net income was $510 million, down from $578 million the previous year. Almost half of earnings — $240 million — was directed to the province's general revenue fund. Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for CIC, said the general revenue fund helps pay for things like education and health care. "Our Crowns delivered the second-lowest total cost utility bundle in Canada in 20224-25 and offered some of the lowest auto insurance and natural gas commodity rates in the entire country," Harrison said. Aleana Young, SaskPower critic for the Sask. NDP, said the dip in earnings and rising debts indicate the Crown corporations are under financial strain. "When profits fall and debt climbs, rate hikes follow," she said at a news conference Monday. "It's only a matter of time before the Sask. Party raises your power bills yet again." The NDP also flagged that the SGI Auto Fund saw a fourth consecutive year of losses in the Rate Stabilization Reserve with almost $200 million lost last year. Meanwhile, SGI posted $43.2 million in net earnings. "SGI is supposed to operate the Auto Fund on a break-even basis and keep rates affordable for Saskatchewan families," said Hugh Gordon, the shadow minister for SGI said a press release. "With years of losses in SGI's rate stabilization fund under the Sask. Party's watch, Saskatchewan people are going to be forced to pay higher premiums." SaskTel earned $82.2 million in net income in 2024–25, down $13.2 million from 2023-24. It spent $398.5 million in capital investments, up $30 million from the last fiscal year. The corporations said that's largely due to increased wireless device costs. "We're going to have to work on being an efficient company … we're here to compete and we're certainly poised to do that," said Jeff Welke, SaskTel's director of corporate affairs. According to the report, more than 77 per cent of Saskatchewan homes and businesses now have access to infiNET, SaskTel's fibre optic network. SaskEnergy reported a net income of $82 million before market value adjustments, up $27.9 million from 2023-24 This is primarily due to increases in core delivery and transportation revenues. According to the report, it returned $31.8 million to the government in the form of dividends, up from $20.6 million last year. It also issued $5 million in energy rebates.
