Southwest Power Pool, the regional transmission organization headquartered in Little Rock, has followed up its expansion of services to the Western United States and gone international.
The power transmission nonprofit announced Monday that it has added its first international member, Saskatchewan Power Corp. of Canada.
SaskPower, as it is known, joined in an effort to “increase reliability through interregional coordination,” according to a news release from SPP.
“Greater integration with SPP will help to ensure reliable, clean energy is available to Saskatchewan to support our own generating facilities,” Rupen Pandya, SaskPower’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “We look forward to a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with SPP in the years to come.”
SaskPower signed a 20-year interconnection deal with SPP to increase transmission capacity between the Canadian province and the United States. The agreement includes building a new power line to allow 650 megawatts of power imports and exports starting in 2027.
SPP President and CEO Barbara Sugg welcomed SaskPower. “The continued success of our organization and the integrity of the bulk power system both rely on strong interregional ties. I look forward to our organizations working more closely together to find solutions that benefit everyone living in the regions we serve.”
SPP and SaskPower have operated adjacently since 2015, when SPP’s service territory expanded to the North Dakota-Saskatchewan border. SPP and SaskPower have a joint operating agreement that outlines how the organizations are to coordinate reliability and transmission functions.
