Opportunities
Small Power Producers Policy
For Electricity Generating Facilities up to 100 Kilowatts
The Small Power Producers Policy is designed to accommodate customers who
wish to generate up to 100 kilowatts (kW) of electricity for the purpose
of offsetting power that would otherwise be purchased from SaskPower. This
applies to wind and solar-powered facilities, as well as other viable generating
sources.
Customers may interconnect a generating facility, up to 100 kW in size, to SaskPower’s electricity distribution system (on the customer side of the electric service meter) subject to the following conditions:
The generating facility must meet SaskPower’s interconnection requirements for safety, protection and power quality;
The generating facility's design and equipment must meet CSA standards, and will be subject to inspection by the Electrical Inspection Branch including all necessary inspection permits and charges;
Two-way metering will be required to separately measure energy provided to the grid from the generator and the energy provided by SaskPower to the customer;
The operator is responsible for the metering and billing of any energy provided to SaskPower's grid. At the customer's option and expense, SaskPower will supply the necessary metering and billing service;
SaskPower will purchase any excess energy provided to the grid at a firm price of 6.26 ¢/kW·h. This price is based on SaskPower’s variable cost of electricity from all other sources and is calculated annually from information taken from SaskPower’s Annual Report. This price will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis when SaskPower issues its Annual Report;
Energy banking services are not provided under this policy (ie: the meter does not turn backward when the generator is feeding power to the electric system);
The operator of the generating facility must pay for all incremental interconnection costs including metering and any necessary upgrades to the SaskPower electric system;
The operator must enter into an interconnection agreement and operating agreement with SaskPower prior to connection to the grid; and
It will be necessary to supply the energy at one of SaskPower's standard supply voltages.
The technical requirements for interconnecting small generators to the SaskPower electric system are outlined in the document entitled "Generation Interconnection Requirements at Voltages 34.5 kV and Below". Included in this document, in Section 1.8, is a discussion of the general process to be followed for addressing the technical issues associated with all requests to operate generation in parallel with SaskPower's system.
As part of the technical assessment the cost to connect to the grid will be identified.
Please note that SaskPower’s experience is that smaller power projects can be costly to set up and operate. If you are considering pursuing this type of venture we suggest that you thoroughly evaluate the amount of energy you expect to produce and the economics of the project to determine your overall cost of electricity.
For your information, Natural Resources Canada has developed software, called RETScreen that may assist you with evaluating your project if you are considering renewable energy technology.
If you are considering a wind power project, Environment Canada has published a Canadian Wind Atlas that may provide you with information relating to the wind resource in your area.
Also, the Canadian Wind Energy Association has a website dedicated to small wind power development. This site includes a listing of wind turbine manufacturers.
For more information on the interconnection requirements or SaskPower’s pricing policy, please contact:
SaskPower
Planning, Environment and Regulatory Affairs
6th Floor - 2025 Victoria Ave
Regina, SK S4P 0S1
Phone: (306) 566-2853
1-800-667-4749 (toll-free in Saskatchewan)
Email: Independent Power Producers
