Boundary Dam Unit 4 fired up on April 22, and it’s more significant than you might think

Apr 26, 2026

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Boundary Dam Power Station on April 22, 2026, the day BD4 fired up again.. While it is difficult to see in this photo, if you crank up the contrast in Photoshop, you can indeed see hot exhaust coming from the Unit 4 smokestack, the third from the left. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

This is what it looks like if you dramatically increase the contrast in Photoshop. (No, that’s not black smoke.) There was clearly some exhaust coming out of the BD4 stack, third from the left, on April 22. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

 

ESTEVAN – Up until now, the coal-fired power refurbishment may have seemed like a lot of talk. On Wednesday, April 22, it became real. That’s when Boundary Dam Unit 4 went back online, producing power.

It might have a few hiccups as it literally gets up to steam, but BD4 is alive once again.

And that’s significant for a number of reasons.

It was supposed to retire in 2021, according to federal coal regulations. Actually, it was supposed to retire much earlier, but Saskatchewan and SaskPower reached a coal equivalency agreement to stretch it, and sister generating Unit 5, a few more years. In return, Saskatchewan pledged to add an additional 3,000 megawatts of wind and solar nameplate capacity to our grid by 2035.

It turns out we couldn’t afford to shut down Unit 4 entirely back in 2021. There were several occasions where that unit was fired up to supply power that was desperately needed for the grid. But in late 2024, it was shut down for good – or so it seemed at the time.

Just a couple months later, Minister of Crown Investments Corp and Minister Responsible for SaskPower Jeremy Harrison announced that the province was seriously looking at refurbishing the coal fleet. And on June 18, 2025, via a letter to SaskPower employees, he announced that indeed would be happening. By early 2026, the plan was laid out to bring back and refurbish the entire coal fleet between now and 2035, including the retired BD 4 and 5.

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Data centre link

Bringing back those two units, rated at 139 megawatts a piece, was absolutely crucial for what will be one of the most expensive projects in this province’s history. When it became clear Saskatchewan would soon be bringing back nearly 300 megawatts of dispatchable, baseload power onto the grid, the phones began ringing for SaskPower and the Government of Saskatchewan with data centre developers eager to build in Saskatchewan.

The government chose Bell Canada as the successful developer, and this spring a new data centre to be built just southeast of Regina was announced. Its total economic impact is anticipated to be $12 billion. And its development is entirely tied to bringing Boundary Dam Units 4 and 5 back online as dispatchable baseload power. It’s power requirement? Three hundred megawatts.

(Editor’s Note: SaskPower’s website says each unit is actually rated at 139 megawatts, but frequently these numbers are rounded up to 150 megawatts in many discussions, as seen below.)

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Federal coal regulations and the constitution

Bringing BD4 back to life is a clear violation of the federal coal regulations, which the Government of Saskatchewan has chosen to defy. Specifically, coal units were to only run 50 years and then be retired.  While the equivalency agreement gave us a few more years, it did not allow for longer than that.

This was one of the principal points of the Saskatchewan First Act, introduced by then Minister of Justice and Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre. The Act basically says Saskatchewan will make its own decisions and rules on environmental standards, particularly those applying to greenhouse gas emissions and power generation. It reasserted Saskatchewan’s exclusive legislative jurisdiction under Section 92 (A) of the Constitution of Canada, in particular, “the operation of sites and facilities for the generation and production of electrical energy.”

Harrison’s Saskatchewan First Energy and Security Strategy and Supply Plan, released in October, 2025, laid out how coal will be used as a bridge to eventual nuclear power generation. That bridge could be several decades, with 2050 as the goal for net zero grid.

 

Coal miners working east of Shand Power Station on March 23. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Jobs

Significantly, when BD4 shut down, approximately 24 miners lost their jobs at the local Westmoreland Estevan Mine. Presumably, if less coal consumption led to fewer coal mining jobs, more coal consumption will lead to more coal mining jobs.

Ken Hoste, assistant business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2067, said by email, “Credit goes to our IBEW 2067 Union members whose skill and pride in their work got BD4 running again. This was no easy task, especially given the condition it was in after being run to failure. As always, our members stepped up and delivered, showing once again the value of a highly skilled workforce.

“The decision to keep coal generation is good for the entire province— stable, reliable electricity supports families, and gives business such as the recently announced data center the confidence to invest in Saskatchewan.”

So as you can see, there’s a lot more to bringing back BD4 to life than just doing some repairs and turning it back on.

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CIC committee

It is with that context that Boundary Dam Unit 4 received considerable discussion during the Legislature’s Crown and Central Agencies Committee meeting on April 21, where Harrison and SaskPower executives appeared before the committee, with most of the opposition’s points made by NDP Shadow Minister for Jobs and the Economy Aleana Young.

SaskPower vice president of Asset Strategy and Planning Gregg Milbrandt went into considerable detail describing the work done. He had extensive involvement in the 2011-2014 rebuild of BD3 and the carbon capture project, and has previously been director of both Boundary Dam and Shand Power Stations.

Millbrandt said, “From the fall of 2025 and the spring of 2026, SaskPower executed a targeted project intended to return Boundary Dam Unit 4 to a safe, compliant, and operable condition following extended lay-up and expiry of pressure equipment certification in November 2024. The work was inspection driven and progressed on two parallel, independent tracks: mechanical restoration and regulatory recertification.

“The project is a culmination of Boundary Dam maintenance staff, other specialty groups within SaskPower, 28 external vendors and service providers coming together for a combined nearly 62,000 labour hours to date. These groups have coordinated their efforts across approximately 360 different work scopes under 40 operating permits, working in close quarters to one another, and delivering the project with zero lost time injuries.

“Of the contracted services and material spend, approximately 82 per cent of that was Saskatchewan-based, 15 per cent within Canada, and 3 per cent outside of Canada. There’s relatively modest investment focused on effort restoring up to 150 megawatts of dispatchable baseload capacity to the Saskatchewan system. Compared to the time and capital required to procure and install new generation, BD4’s return provides strong near-term capacity valued by leveraging existing infrastructure and while meeting current safety and regulatory requirements.”

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Background

Milbrandt said, “So a little bit of background on BD4. So it was added to the system alongside BD3 in 1970. The two units comprise of what was known today as B plant in Boundary dam, sharing a common control room and operating staff. The unit operated reliably for SaskPower, undergoing routine maintenance and planned capital injections over the course of 50 years. BD4’s last major overhaul to the turbine generator occurred in 2014, and the last minor overhaul was completed in 2017.

“Based on typical maintenance cycles, the next minor overhaul window would have been completed in the fall of 2019. However as the unit approached planned retirement decision, no further investment was injected into the unit. The unit was operated from ’17 to ’19 in its normal operating capacity, and was operated in the same manner for two more years, despite not completing into regular two-year overall activities.

“After a four-year run cycle, the unit was transitioned to a low-use operating strategy. By end of ’21 BD4 was placed into lay-up mode and was operated only when system conditions required it for emergency and backup needs, the limited runs at reduced output. In October of 2022 one of the two boiler feed pumps failed, and attempts to repair were not successful. Decision was made to de-rate the unit from 150 megawatts to 65 instead of rebuilding both boiler feed pumps.

“The unit remained in lay-up mode with a 65 megawatt capacity until the pressure equipment certification ultimately expired in November of 2024. This necessitated a full inspection, repair, and recertification prior to any sustained return to service.”

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Boundary Dam Unit 4 in August, 2023. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

 

Refurbishment

Millbrandt then explained recent efforts to bring BD4 back online. He said, “Upon release of the Saskatchewan energy security strategy, BD4 was identified as an obvious candidate, a return-to-service investment that could be completed in a short time frame with existing resources without long-lead components.

“Planning and execution of the project has been a collaborative effort across many internal SaskPower teams and a supplier community across Saskatchewan. The coordination of all this effort at site has been managed by Jody Waloshin, as mentioned by the minister, a senior Boundary Dam management employee and a past co-worker of mine and a key member of the Boundary Dam facility through the course of his career.

“As the minister mentioned, you can’t forget about the people. And Boundary Dam is made up of many folks. And of course, all folks across the facility participated in its restoration, including mechanical maintenance departments, electrical maintenance, instrumentation, maintenance, the labs, B plant operation teams. Of course, the admin staff, utility folks, and many folks within the storage functions. Specialized groups across generation also supported the repair and restoration, including the combustion boiler turbine generator equipment, and they all had a steady site presence throughout the project.

“The project has received support from many others across centrally based groups within the company including coal modernization team, generation asset management, engineering . . . [inaudible] . . . quality assurance, procurement, finance, project delivery, system tests, apparatus maintenance, and various others.

“As with any SaskPower project, our unionized workforce plays a very key role in the success of the project. Our various maintenance contractors, such as Balzer’s Canada, Aluma Systems, pull from the union halls around the province such as the boilermakers, millwrights, pipefitters, scaffolders, insulators, and others as well. And of course, lastly and definitely but not least are IBEW Local 2067. Our IBEW staff are at the centre of most of our internal workgroups and are a key part of our successful execution from the first phase of the project to the last.”

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Work done

Millbrandt said, “The return-to-service scope was driven by inspection findings typical of an aging thermal asset returning from extended lay-up. Work was prioritized to restore pressure bonnet integrity, rotating equipment reliability, protection of control system readiness required for restart and regulatory approval.

Harrison noted the total cost to date to restore those that 150 megawatts to online was $7.6 million. “In all of that, Madam Chair, we’re $7.6 million to return 150 megawatts of coal-fired power to the grid — 150 megawatts for $7.6 million.

Here’s some of the things that took place, according to Millbrandt:

“Internal boiler inspections identified several cold-related deficiencies required to meet our quality management program under TSASK’s authority. Corrective work included more than 433 cold shield repairs, approximately 42 cutouts, and 77 pad rolls to restore the boiler pressure integrity. Verification activities included non-destructive examination followed by a leak integrity test and completion of mandatory fuel interlocks in preparation for controlled firing and return of the boiler to service.”

“The feedwater train was restored to support reliable unit operation. Work included the condensate extraction pump rebuilds and major work on the de-aerator after inspections revealed extensive cracking at shell-to-head welds.

“To reduce risk and satisfying regulatory inspections, a remedy was revised from repair assumptions to replacement of the affected de-aerator components. This included fabrication, engineering review approval, controlled insulation, and post-work inspection and testing. Boiler feed pumps and their 4160-volt motors were fully rebuilt as well. Due to obsolescence this included some reverse engineering and custom fabricated components, followed by functional checks to confirm readiness for operation as well.

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“The work on the feed pumps was also a significant part of this project as the health of these assets were one of the major contributing factors to preventing BD4 from recertification and continuing to run beyond November 2024. The high-pressure piping safety system programs include the inspection of our main steam lines, high-pressure piping to confirm continued fitness for service, and to satisfy the TSASK certification requirements. And of course additional testing will follow once the unit reaches full load.”

Additional work included rebuilds of turbine stop valves, control valves, bearing inspections, oil system cleaning and restoration. Work was also completed as on key combustion support equipment to enable stable firing and safe operation. Scope included repairs on pulverizers, combustion components, pulverizers, motors, coal piping, and burner components. Pulverizer inspections, routine inspections, and rebuilds will continue as part of ongoing maintenance on the unit once it’s back in service. Routine maintenance was performed on all combustion air fans and their corresponding 4160 motors, including extensive work on their primary air fans.

Significant effort went into inspecting and testing the control system components, verifying spares, and in some cases sourcing replacement components.

He added, “As for next steps, the team successfully established fire in the boiler, as mentioned, this April 17th and is currently flushing and refilling. And we are firing the boiler here today (April 21). Once that unit has reached temperature, we will begin to emit steam through the valves and begin to stretch out the turbine. Once the unit then rolls off and we reach 3,600 rpm [revolutions per minute], equipment will be operating within expected parameters. We will officially connect BD4 back to the system. At that point online tests will commence which will complete the recertification of the unit.”

He concluded, “In conclusion BD4’s return-to-service project is a significant milestone. With over 62,000 labour hours were invested to complete inspection-driven boiler and pressure part repairs, address critical feed water turbine risk, and to re-establish electrical protection rates while maintaining zero loss-time injuries. The major repair, inspection, and certification activities and commissioning is under way. BD4 is targeted to return in May, returning 150 megawatts of baseload power to the system and delivering meaningful near-term capacity value using existing infrastructure.”

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Cost

Young asked Harrison, “What is the total cost of the coal refurbishment project undertaken by SaskPower? Is it the $2.6 billion that SaskPower put in its submission to the rate review panel? Yes or no?

Harrison replied that those details were provided in the rate review panel responses Young was quoting. He said, “That’s over the course of the entire project.

“So that includes the refurbishment of Boundary Dam 4. It includes the life extensions for 5, for 6, for Boundary Dam 0, which is what we call the overall building and infrastructure that is common to all of the units for Poplar River 1, for Poplar River 2, for Poplar River 0, which also is the overall facility-shared spaces, and for Shand and for Boundary dam 3 as well. So that includes the entire project. And I would say by way of comparison, $2.6 billion for over 1500 megawatts of power.

“We are estimating right now if we were to build another Aspen power station, which we’re going to hit budget, I think it’ll be about $1.7 billion just on the capex [capital expense] at Aspen. We need four more of those. We need four more Aspens to replace the 1528 megawatts of coal-fired generation. We’re estimating for one of those four plants, $2.5 billion — for one. We need four. Our coal refurbishment, $2.6 billion. I think everybody gets the math.”

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Young said, “So to be crystal clear, that $2.6 billion, that is the total cost that the minister is standing behind for the entirety of the coal refurbishment work?”

Harrison replied, “That is the estimate that we have been provided. That’s the planning number that we’re using. So we’re, you know, going to be working through that obviously over the course of the rebuild. We’re going to do everything we can to keep that number at that $2.6 billion range.

“But like I said, when you are doing the comparative analysis, $2.5 billion for a gas plant that you would need four of to replace our entire coal fleet that we’re refurbishing for 2.6. And in addition to that I would say, Madam Chair, we know where the coal is coming from, we know what it costs, and we know who owns it because it’s owned by the people of the province.

“Any new gas generation that we’re bringing onto the grid — and we are going to be bringing more gas generation onto the grid — we’re not producing that gas here. We’re having to import that gas. And I would say as well as far as the commodity price risk going forward — which is why we have taken an all-of-the-above approach on power generation — but the commodity price risk is a real thing. You know, we’ve had the advantage of having basically landlocked natural gas. I mean that’s been the advantage in keeping the price down.

“What we are seeing now though — and I would say that this is a really a very positive thing for the country — but the ability to move natural gas to the coast, where it’s liquefied, and then export it from Canada into other jurisdictions, meaning you’re getting the global commodity price at that point rather than the landlocked western North American price, which at this point right now is about . . . it’s over 10 times higher. Depends. I didn’t look at the LNG [liquefied natural gas] price today, but it’s been around $18 an MMBtu [million British thermal units] for the last number of weeks.

Harrison pointed out that if Saskatchewan had to pay the world price for natural gas, we would be paying $18 per MMBtu. Harrison has said in previous committee testimony that about 90 per cent of the gas SaskPower uses comes from Alberta.

Join the Pipeline Online Podcast at noon on Monday, April 27 with guest Paul Colborne, Oil Person of the Year and president and CEO of Surge Energy. He was founder, CEO and president of Crescent Point. If you took part in the Bakken Boom, he had an impact on your life. Watch live on X, Facebook or YouTube. The podcast will be posted on Pipeline Online on Tuesday morning. 

 

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    0120 2026 SK oil show attendee
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    0114 Prospera Bold Vision
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    0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer
  • 0085 Turnbull snow removal call office
    0085 Turnbull snow removal call office
  • 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
    0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
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    0100 Turnbull Project Manager
  • 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
    0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
  • 0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD
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  • 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
    0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
  • 0092 Turnbull projects big and small
    0092 Turnbull projects big and small
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    0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
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    0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
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    0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
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    9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
  • 9001

 

In depth with the minister on Saskatchewan First Energy Security Strategy and Supply Plan