Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
This was the carbon tax paid for a house and small shop in Hyas, SK, in January 2023, back when the carbon tax was still $50 a tonne. It will soon be $80 a tonne.
Starting January 1, 2024, both SaskEnergy and SaskPower will remove the federal carbon tax from home heating, the provincial government said in an Dec. 28 release. And the impact could make a big difference for many people, as seen in an example below.
“This will result in savings for approximately 98 per cent of Saskatchewan families who were unfairly left out of the federal government’s decision to exempt the carbon tax on home heating oil,” the government said.
“Our government is ensuring fairness for Saskatchewan families by removing the federal carbon tax on natural gas and electric heat, just as the federal government has done for families in Atlantic Canada by removing the carbon tax on heating oil,” Crown Investments Corporation Minister Dustin Duncan said. “By extending carbon tax relief to Saskatchewan families who were left out in the cold by the federal government, our government is protecting Saskatchewan families’ ability to afford to heat their homes this winter.”
While Trudeau increases the carbon tax on January 1st making life more expensive for Canadian families, our government is removing the carbon tax on home heating, making life more affordable.
⁰Starting January 1st, Saskatchewan families will no longer pay the carbon tax, or the… pic.twitter.com/5TnagJI29w— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) December 28, 2023
The removal of the federal carbon tax from SaskEnergy bills, effective January 1, 2024, will save the average Saskatchewan family approximately $400 in 2024.
Heating accounts for up to 60 per cent of power consumption during the winter months for customers who rely on electric heat, so SaskPower will eliminate the carbon tax on that heating by reducing the federal carbon tax rate rider on their bills by 60 per cent. This will benefit approximately 30,000 SaskPower customers, reducing their power bills by an average of $21 per month through the winter.
Customers will still see a federal carbon tax charge on their January utility bills for natural gas or electricity used for heating that they used in the month of December. The federal carbon tax will be zero billed, appearing as both a charge and a reversal credit, on bills for usage on and after January 1, 2024.
For SaskEnergy customers on an Equalized Payment Plan, equalized payment amounts will be adjusted beginning in February, the government said.
Customers who believe that they are incorrectly being charged the federal carbon tax can contact SaskEnergy at 1-800-567-8899 or www.saskenergy.com/customer-support, and SaskPower at 1-888-757-6937 or contactus@saskpower.com.
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Carbon tax example for 80 year old retired farmer from Hyas, Saskatchewan
Here’s a practical example of the carbon tax:
While home heating oil, also referred to as fuel oil, has dramatically declined in usage in Saskatchewan, it is still used in some instances, especially in rural areas without pipeline connections. Pipeline News editor Brian Zinchuk’s father had a heating oil furnace on the farm hear Hyas, until about nine years ago, at which point it had become unaffordable and a propane furnace was installed, reducing heating costs by well over half. But that was before any carbon taxes were implemented.
As for the impact of the elimination of the carbon tax on natural gas in Saskatchewan, here’s a real-world example of a 1,600 square foot home and small heated shop in the village of Hyas, from January, 2023, when the carbon tax was still $50 per tonne of CO2 equivalent. The home has a natural gas-fired boiler for water heat, natural gas fireplace and water heater. The shop was minimally heated with radiant natural gas heaters. This was paid by a retired pensioner on fixed income:
Total bill: $779.35
Gas usage: $529.12
Municipal surcharge: $26.46
GST on gas: $27.78
Federal carbon tax: $178.09
GST on federal carbon tax: $8.90
That same bill, based on the current rate of $65 per tonne, would see a $231.52 federal carbon tax. And in three years, when the rate will be $110 per tonne, would see a $391.80 carbon tax, for one month. GST would be on top of that. In 2030, with the federal carbon tax at $170 per tonne, the carbon tax would be $605.51, plus GST, for one month.
Here’s that same house and shop for all of 2023. Note, the shop was removed from the meter in November, resulting in a lower December bill.
| DATE | TOTAL | NATURAL GAS CHARGES | MUNICIPAL SURCHARGE | GST | FEDERAL CARBON CHARGE | FEDERAL CARBON CHARGE GST |
| December 12, 2023 | $306.46 | $194.55 | $9.73 | $10.21 | $87.59 | $4.38 |
| November 14, 2023 | $259.54 | $166.11 | $8.30 | $8.72 | $72.77 | $3.64 |
| October 13, 2023 | $163.17 | $110.14 | $5.51 | $5.78 | $39.75 | $1.99 |
| September 13, 2023 | $100.49 | $71.26 | $3.56 | $3.74 | $20.89 | $1.04 |
| August 14, 2023 | $91.01 | $65.23 | $3.26 | $3.42 | $18.19 | $0.91 |
| July 13, 2023 | $81.55 | $59.20 | $2.96 | $3.11 | $15.50 | $0.78 |
| June 13, 2023 | $117.09 | $81.82 | $4.09 | $4.30 | $25.60 | $1.28 |
| May 11, 2023 | $259.25 | $170.84 | $8.55 | $8.97 | $65.36 | $3.27 |
| April 14, 2023 | $590.04 | $398.63 | $19.93 | $20.93 | $143.38 | $7.17 |
| March 13, 2023 | $570.35 | $393.34 | $19.67 | $20.66 | $130.17 | $6.51 |
| February 13, 2023 | $634.79 | $437.09 | $21.86 | $22.95 | $145.61 | $7.28 |
| January 13, 2023 | $770.35 | $529.12 | $26.46 | $27.78 | $178.09 | $8.90 |
TOTAL |
$942.90 |
$47.15 |
Thus, the total carbon tax, plus the GST applied to it, totaled $990.05. Again, that was for an 80 year-old retired farmer, a pensioner on fixed income living in a small village in rural Saskatchewan. The removal of the carbon tax on Jan. 1 should result in a savings of just under a thousand dollars in one year for that pensioner.
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