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• The multi-level perspective can explain switch points and transitions through relations of actors and their networks. • An effective network assemblage sets the stage for a switch point and transition. • Effective network assemblage can be one explanation for why certain policy instruments seem attractive at any given switch point. • Absence of renewable energy network assemblage like a 'prosumer' in Saskatchewan impacts transition to a renewables-based energy system. This article analyzes the third (1994) and fourth (2015) epochs of Saskatchewan's energy system and the actors and their networks associated with the transition into a renewable future. A case study method was employed using analyses of the structural, institutional and historical context of power production and energy systems transitions in Saskatchewan. The historic rise of coal is discussed but analysis focuses on the displacement of coal and the era of decarbonization and renewables. Actors, their problemitizations, and narrative processes complement the discussion of transitions away from coal and advancing renewables. The analysis provides policy implications for future coal phase-out including the rise of renewable cooperatives and prosumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature on socio-technical transitions acknowledge that negative risk perception is important to socio-technical transitions. This article argues that beyond identifying risk as a potential barrier, the acceptance or rejection of innovative options because of risks is a predictor of the transition pathway being adopted. This article analyses discussions from citizen's jury sessions held in three Saskatchewan cities to identify how local citizens perceive risk in low carbon base-load technologies. It shows how risk analysis influence choices of power generation technologies, which in turn influence energy systems transition pathways in Saskatchewan. It finds that in Saskatchewan, a history of usage and consumption, rather than cost or technical risk, is the strongest factor influencing people's perception and tolerance of risk in innovative technologies in the energy sector, allowing for options such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) to be deployed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like other policy subsectors, power generation has been affected by the governance changes of the last two decades, including a shift to more collaborative state-society relations. Collaborative governance implies new kinds of public engagement designed to provide both input legitimacy, through the involvement of a broader range of actors in policy design, and output legitimacy, through enhanced feedback and policy learning. This paper compares the impact of “governance-driven engagement” in the power generation subsectors in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, arguing that engagement increased the complexity of the policy mix in the subsector without succeeding in providing better feedback and learning. The paper notes a recent trend towards more expert-driven and less collaborative processes, as both provinces struggled to rationalize and simplify power generation policy goals and instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]