SaskPower's storefront retail service outlet in Estevan is now officially closed to the general public.
The provincial Crown corporation closed most of their retail locations effective Nov. 30, said SaskPower spokesman Tyler Hopson in response to an inquiry.
"The walk-in service in Estevan has been eliminated along with those services in all other communities other than Regina, Saskatoon, Yorkton, Prince Albert and North Battleford," he said.
Online and phone-in service is still available, but Hopson said he did not know if the phone-in service would be bolstered with more representatives.
The administration and other non-power production employees in Estevan will remain the same. In other words there will be no changes to the current transmission staff and crew numbers. Currently SaskPower has 16 Estevan-based employees on the non-production side of the business.
"We also remind customers if they prefer to pay their SaskPower bills in person, they can still do so at the banks, credit unions and at the SaskEnergy and SaskTel service centres," said Hopson.
The changes are made in the name of modernizing customer service delivery options, SaskPower said in an earlier release. Bill payments are made by credit card using an improved web-based and Internet service with a greater ability to interact with the company through social media.
Those who answer the phone will be people who reside in Saskatchewan.
"Our customers are increasingly asking for more information online and are visiting offices less and calling us more often," said SaskPower president and CEO Robert Watson.
The decrease in customer traffic at the retail offices was about 40 per cent, he said.
General inquiries to SaskPower may be made by phone from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and the on-call service is 24/7 for reporting power outages or emergencies.
With the closing of the retail offices, SaskPower noted that their drive-through bill payment centre in Regina was also closing.
Those involved in the administration duties and who were retained by SaskPower will devote their attention to online services, billing and contact service activities.
In the meantime, SaskPower said they are moving forward with the development of a $16 million facility in Weyburn that will amalgamate current leased facilities that the corporation has outgrown. The Weyburn facility will serve as a maintenance hub for the southeast part of the province which is expanding due to the increased demand from oilfield activity and general population growth.
A total of 90 employees will work from that facility including operations, construction, electrical design, inspections, business support, customer services (no cashiers), meter readers and technicians. The staffing also includes safety management, vehicle maintenance and material stores. The storage yard will have material for construction and maintenance of SaskPower's electrical equipment and power lines. It will be the depot for specialized service vehicles and equipment.
The new Weyburn facility will encompass 45,300 square feet including mezzanines and is being constructed on a 12.5 acre property. This does not include another adjoining five acres that are still available for development.
Construction of the new facility began in late 2011 and is expected to be completed by February of next year and occupied in March.
