Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Despite the operating cost pressures noted above, SaskEnergy continued to achieve its goal of having residential delivery rates that are competitive with the major utilities across Canada. A typical residential customer in Regina paid $603 for delivery service in 2024-25, an increase of only $11 from the previous year. This was the third-lowest delivery rate in Canada, behind both Winnipeg, Manitoba ($499) and Hamilton, Ontario ($445). SaskEnergy will continue to focus on efficiency to enhance affordability and maintain competitiveness. Reliability Unplanned Distribution Customer Outage Events are service disruptions affecting more than one customer. These arise from activities such as third-party damage (line hits), operator error, facilities failure and security issues. SaskEnergy’s system integrity, safety and environmental protection programs combine predictive analysis and proactive response. Program effectiveness is demonstrated through reduced levels of gas leaks, failures, third-party contacts, and other measures. There was a significant reduction in outage events this year with a total of 18 reported outages, down from the 31 reported in the previous year and 50 per cent less than the target expectation. In addition to the protection programs noted above, the positive result this year can be primarily attributed to public safety efforts that continue to decrease the number of third-party line contacts with buried infrastructure. Greener Energy Provider SaskEnergy’s environmental responsibility efforts are focused on reducing emissions from operations, supporting customers in reducing their end-use emissions through programs and education, and demonstrating stewardship through the protection of the local environment. The Corporation has realized emissions reductions through infrastructure enhancements, continuously improving emissions data, and leveraging innovative emissions reduction technology. The evolving regulatory landscape will influence SaskEnergy’s emissions reduction priorities and adjustments will be made to meet these requirements.
SaskEnergy’s emissions reduction roadmap guides the way for the organization in reducing emissions from operations by 35 per cent by 2030, including a long-term electricity strategy that defines plans for renewable power installations across the province. The first ground-mounted solar array was constructed in 2022-23 in Regina, and additional facilities continue to be added each year with four new facilities in 2024-25. SaskEnergy is reducing vented operational emissions through gas capture and flaring technologies, with a focus on transmission system emissions. Another focus area in the Corporation’s roadmap is to optimize existing infrastructure to gain efficiencies. To track progress against achieving the goal of 35 per cent emissions reduction by 2030, SaskEnergy continues to measure cumulative greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions relative to 2019. In 2024-25 SaskEnergy reached a 21.5 per cent reduction compared to the 2019 baseline year and exceeded its target of a 2.5 per cent reduction in operational emissions for this fiscal year. The contributing factors to this reduction were reduced fuel usage for compression, reduced electricity usage, and a reduction in vented emissions. SaskEnergy is also committed to assisting customers in meeting their own sustainability goals. Residential and commercial equipment rebate programs continue to be offered year-round to encourage residential and business customers to install high-efficiency equipment in their buildings. SaskEnergy launched new programs in the last year addressing residential energy efficiency retrofits, homes built to higher energy efficiency levels than minimum code requirements, and furnace upgrades in First Nations communities. SaskEnergy also collaborated with SaskPower to provide rebates for smart thermostats. These programs have gone through a ramp up period and have picked up momentum through this year. A total of nearly $5 million was spent on efficiency incentives for customers through programs in 2024-25 which helped customers achieve 18,900 tonnes of incremental gross CO 2 e emissions reductions.
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