It won't be by as much as SaskPower originally requested, but the government of Saskatchewan has agreed to a rate increase of 3.5 per cent for 2018.

The increase is aimed primarily at renewing and growing the grid through capital spending.

"It's a slightly-complex process, and our application was over 100 pages long," said SaskPower spokesperson Jonathan Tremlay. "So there's a lot of different areas where we need to invest. We also have to make sure our debt ratio is in a certain level, our return on equity is under a certain level, but what's important is most of that goes to capital spending."

The 3.5-per-cent mark is an average, as the typical family home will have a different increase than a business or a large business. The increase, which comes into effect March 1, will cost the average residential customer about $4 more per month.

"We will continue to challenge SaskPower, and all government agencies, to do more with less, and without compromising service to Saskatchewan homes and businesses," said minister responsible for SaskPower Dustin Duncan.

SaskPower's target for 2030 is to be half renewable energy. Much of the current infrastructure was built in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, and is nearing "the end of its life," according to Tremblay.

"It's not quite as much as we had asked for, and made a case for. That's why we'll be spending the next days and weeks figuring out our options - what projects can we potentially delay or reduce in scope so that we can keep serving the public, but in a way that still balances the books with this 3.5 per cent," Tremblay said.

The City of Swift Current - which resells the power itself - is expected, as usual, to have an equivalent increase, according to a City spokesperson.