Canada’s SaskPower has established a nuclear subsidiary, SaskNuclear, to support Saskatchewan’s small modular reactor (SMR) project through the regulatory and licensing process. The subsidiary will be wholly owned by SaskPower and will share a President and CEO, as well as a Board of Directors.
Nuclear power is federally regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and has standards and regulations that are unique to the nuclear industry that differ from SaskPower’s other generation sources. SaskPower will need to build a nuclear information management system and establish a strong nuclear safety culture to become a licensed nuclear operator.
“Canada’s nuclear industry is held to a very high standard, and establishing a subsidiary dedicated to nuclear power will help SaskPower meet Canada’s strict regulatory requirements,” said Dustin Duncan, Minister Responsible for SaskPower. “The work done at SaskNuclear in the coming years will help support a final investment decision on whether to proceed with SMRs in 2029.”
Rupen Pandya, SaskPower and SaskNuclear President & CEO said: “A key part of our planning and development work is to evaluate various business models that would advance our project as effectively as possible. Establishing a nuclear subsidiary is the best option for a greenfield jurisdiction, like Saskatchewan.”
The government of Saskatchewan is currently aiming to reach net-zero by 2050. To date, SaskPower has selected GE-Hitachi’s BWRX-300 as the technology for potential deployment. SaskPower has also narrowed down the potential sites for the reactor to the Estevan area.
