Your SaskPower bill is going up again

SaskPower rates are going up next month for the second time in half a year.

The government said Thursday that Premier Brad Wall'scabinet has approved two increases:

• A five-per-cent hike that went into effect July 1.
• A 3.5-per-cent hike that's effective Jan. 1.

The first increase had already gone ahead on an interim basis, but the second is yet to be applied to bills.

The January increase is less than the five per cent SaskPower wanted. The Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel had previously recommended trimmingit back to 3.5 per cent.

• SaskPower rate hike too high, says review panel

For a typical residential customer, the July increase meant a hike of about $6 a month, while the January increase will be about $4 a month, the government says.

In a news release, the province said SaskPower needs the money to upgrade its electrical power generation infrastructure over the next few years.