Our sustainability path
Measures and standards: key indicators
2022-23 highlights
Looking ahead
President’s message
About SaskEnergy
Our sustainability framework
Pillar one: Environment
Pillar two: Prosperity
Pillar three: People
Competitive rates We know our customers value low delivery charges and stable commodity rates, and affordability is one of our strategic imperatives. SaskEnergy is one of the few natural gas distribution companies in North America to use a hedging strategy to deliver rate stability to our customers. Through this strategy, we purchase a portion of our gas in the forward market and supply it to customers in future years, allowing us to reduce our risk to daily price fluctuations and provide stable rates to customers. In 2022-23, customers benefited from a natural gas commodity rate that was much lower than the market rate. Despite a commodity rate increase in August 2022 — the first since 2019 — which raised SaskEnergy’s commodity rate to $4.20 per GJ from $3.20 per GJ, we still achieved our goal of competitive rates compared to major utilities across Canada. At the end of 2022-23, SaskEnergy’s average annual residential natural gas bill was the lowest in Canada. Investments in local and Indigenous-owned businesses We work with private sector companies for the procurement of goods and services, to complement our internal resources, and to provide expertise on leading practices with respect to the operation of our natural gas system. Our procurement processes align with the Government of Saskatchewan’s Crown Sector Priorities and the Saskatchewan Growth Plan.
SaskEnergy supports Saskatchewan’s economy through the execution of purchasing contracts with local and Indigenous-owned businesses for natural gas infrastructure and labour. In 2022-23, 63 per cent of our procurement spend stayed in Saskatchewan, totalling $246.8 million. Realizing the need to build capacity within Saskatchewan Indigenous communities and First Nations to increase participation in our construction projects, we created and implemented an Indigenous Owned Business Master Services Agreement (MSA) in 2022-23. The MSA covers a wide range of services, including civil earthworks, fencing, reclamation, matting, minor mechanical fabrication and installation, and hydrovac. The intent of the MSA is to give meaningful opportunities for Saskatchewan Indigenous-owned businesses to gain SaskEnergy-specific experience. By the end of 2022-23, 12 Indigenous-owned businesses had signed the MSA. The value of SaskEnergy’s contracts awarded to businesses with Indigenous ownership, as well as Indigenous content provided by non-Indigenous- owned businesses, was $16.3 million.
$246.8 million in good and services purchased from Saskatchewan vendors, making up 63 per cent of all purchase orders
SaskEnergy also engages independent plumbing, heating and appliance companies throughout the province through our Network Member program, which supports customers with programs and services such as natural gas appliance upgrades, furnace maintenance and carbon monoxide safety. There are 221 Residential Network Members and 83 Commercial Network Members in 65 Saskatchewan communities.
2022-23 Sustainability Report
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