SaskEnergy customers don’t have to worry about a rate increase any time soon, as the provincial government just cancelled one.

It was announced Friday that the gas company’s submission of a 5 per cent rate increase for July 1 this year and next year will not be going through. 

Minister Responsible for SaskEnergy, Don Morgan, said at a press conference that they didn't feel the rate jump was necessary, so he directed the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel (SRRP) to cancel it. 

“We watched commodity prices go up and down significantly in the last year or two,” Morgan said. “They’re down at a lower level now, but we think it’s appropriate just to maintain some stability right now.”

As for future rate hikes, he said they will review applications as they come in through the SRRP. 

"We know that we have to maintain viability for all of the Crowns," he added. "These are businesses that are owned by all of the citizens of the province. We have to make sure that they're well capitalized and are able to maintain the services due to the expansion that they need."

A media release said that Saskatchewan has some of the most affordable utility rates in the country; the total utility costs for 2022-23 and 2023-24 are expected to be the second lowest among all provinces.