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The new natural gas-fired power plant near Swift Current, named Chinook Power Station, is slated to come online in the latter part of 2019. 

The plant will play a major role in helping SaskPower continue to meet growing demands, said the Crown Corporation’s president and CEO, Mike Marsh, when the building project was announced in mid-September. 

Once complete, the Chinook plant will be capable of generating enough electrical power for a city the size of Saskatoon. 

The 350-megawatt station will be designed and constructed by Burns and McDonnell Canada, an engineering procurement and construction firm that was also involved in the 2015 expansion of the Queen Elizabeth Power Station in Saskatoon. The selection came about as a result of a competitive procurement process. 

An environmental assessment is currently underway as are plans for connecting Chinook to the provincial power grid. A vendor information session was also held in Swift Current for companies that could potentially provide work or materials during construction. Subsequent sessions were held in Saskatoon and Regina. 

The estimated budget for the plant is around $680 million. The project will provide up to 500 jobs during construction and once the plant is built, it will be operated by a staff of 25 workers.