Ciara O ’ Reilly , Martensville Messenger

SaskPower is the primary source of electricity in the province of Saskatchewan , with approximately 3,200 employees serving a mass of 520,000 costumers . Communities are growing , and Saskatchewan is now facing many ongoing challenges regarding power in the province .

There has been a 15 percent growth in demand over the past five years and it is expected to keep growing by at least one percent annually for the upcoming five years as well . Another challenge SaskPower faces is that it is a system that is aging . Most of this aging system was built between 1960 and 1985 and is reaching the end of its useful life . As a result of this aging system , power outages will become more frequent and will last even longer . SaskPower is also in need of generating power from cleaner sources in order to meet new and emerging emissions regulations .

SaskPower has done a great deal of investing in order to support growth and improve reliability . In recent years , SaskPower has invested over $ 225 million in the Saskatoon area to keep up with growing customer demand , meet environmental commitments and renew an aging power grid . In 2016 alone maintenance work has been undergone on many major projects in Saskatoon as well as surrounding areas such as Colonsay , Allan , Clavet , Aberdeen , Dalmeny , Martensville , Warman , Osler , Vanscoy and Delisle . “ SaskPower is facing an ongoing challenge ,” says Ted Elliott , Vice President of Distribution Services . “ As the demand for power continues to grow , we not only need to build the grid , but they need to maintain their existing assets , including our transformers and stations . We ’ re investing about $ 1 billion dollars a year throughout Saskatchewan to make sure homes , farms and businesses have the power they need , when they need it .” So far in 2016 , customers in the area have made over 1,300 new connection or reconstruction requests . Maintenance work worth approximately $ 25 million , includes renewing or replacing underground power lines , upgrading or rebuilding stations that deliver power to customers , upgrading or replacing electrical devices that assist field technicians in finding problems , adding wildlife protection to keep electrical components safe from birds or rodents and trimming trees near power lines . Over the past five years , SaskPower will have spent about $ 180 million on the Saskatoon Area Reinforcement project . If you are among those that have a tree growing near to a power line , you can request for a SaskPower crew to take care of it / trim the tree accordingly free of charge . Don ’ t attempt to trim a tree yourself if it ’ s near or in contact with a power line . Submit your tree trimming request online or call SaskPower at 1 ( 888 ) 757-6937 to report the situation .

MaRtENsVillE MEssENgER - NOVEMBER 10 , 2016 - Page 3

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ABOVE : Some customers were charged 8 % on PST . ( Martensville Heads Up Community Board / Facebook )

Employment Opportunity

A slight glitch in the system caused some customers at the Martensville Co-op to notice a strange addition on their receipts . Shoppers posted on various Martensville community Facebook pages noting that they had been charged an 8 % PST charge on some of their items .

The new store , which opened October 28th , was quick to react after receiving calls from concerned customers and contacted their technical support team who rectified the situation . PST in Saskatchewan is only 5 %, which makes the glitch that much more of a head scratcher .

Customers that had the incorrect amount charged to them are invited to bring their receipt in to have the issue corrected .

Bylaw Enforcement Officer Professional Level 1 Part-Time Positions

There are ( 2 ) permanent part-time positions which will require evening and weekend work . This position is responsible for the following :

• enforcement of the City of Martensville municipal bylaws

• drafting and amendments of the city ’ s bylaws

• receive and investigate complaints

Previous experience working in municipal bylaw or law enforcement is required . All applicants subject to a criminal record check .

In May and July , two new high voltage power lines worth approximately $ 65 million came online , providing more capacity to some of SaskPower ’ s industrial customers . Construction of a high voltage power line worth over $ 20 million is underway and scheduled to be operating by the spring of 2017 . The final construction activities on a station capacity upgrade project worth over $ 15 million , was also completed at the end of September . Currently there is approximately $ 45 million worth of future work in the planning stage , to be finalized in 2017 . In order for SaskPower to safely complete their projects , planned power outages must take place . SaskPower thanks those affected for their patience regarding the matter , and all customers will be notified prior to the power outages . All planned power outages are listed on saskpower . com and on Twitter @ SaskPower . # PowerToGrow

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