SaskPower crews race to restore power after a storm sweeps Saskatchewan

On the evening of September 6, 2026, a fast‑moving thunderstorm slammed into central Saskatchewan. Hail the size of golf balls pelted the prairie sky, while gusts topped 70 km/h, snapping tree branches and knocking down power lines in a string of communities from Regina to the remote farms near Kipling.

Within minutes, residents started reporting outages. Phones buzzed with frantic calls to SaskPower, and the utility’s call‑centre was flooded with complaints—some people simply wanted to know when they could charge their phones again. The situation felt chaotic, but the company’s crews were already mobilising.

By midnight, more than 250 crews, each equipped with safety gear, hot‑line radios and a toolbox full of replacement poles, were dispatched to the worst‑hit zones. In Regina, crews focused on Main Street and the downtown core where a downed line sparked a brief fire that was quickly extinguished. Out in the south, near Kipling, hail left a mess of shattered glass and tangled wires, forcing crews to work in the cold while the rain drummed on their helmets.

“We’re treating this like any other emergency,” said one crew supervisor, who asked to remain anonymous. “Safety first, then we move fast to restore service. It’s a bit of a sprint, but we’ve done this before.” The crews are rotating in shifts, meaning there’s almost always a team on the road, even as the night deepens.

Customers have been urged to stay indoors, avoid downed lines and report any lingering outages through SaskPower’s app or the 24‑hour hotline. In many rural spots, power may stay out for several hours—sometimes longer—because crews have to travel long distances to reach the damaged sections.

By early morning, about 80 % of the affected customers had their electricity back, but a handful of stubborn spots remain dark. SaskPower expects the rest of the province to be fully restored by late afternoon, weather permitting.

The storm is a reminder of how vulnerable the grid can be when nature turns violent. Still, the quick response and coordination of SaskPower’s crews show that even in the face of hail and wind, the province’s electricity network can bounce back—one pole at a time.