Efficient Operations In alignment with the Crown Sector Priority of financial stability and a continued emphasis on operational efficiency, SaskEnergy and TransGas are committed to the cost-effective delivery of natural gas services to all customers in Saskatchewan. The Corporation realized $5.9 million in efficiency savings and process improvements in 2015. These efforts are reflected in the Operation, Maintenance and Administration (OM&A) Costs per Customer measure and SaskEnergy’s ability to successfully offer competitive residential delivery rates to its customers each year. Activity levels moderated somewhat in 2015 relative to previous years and this, combined with collaboration efforts around AMI and joint services, allowed the Corporation to effectively manage costs in 2015. A typical residential customer in Saskatchewan paid $453 for delivery service in 2015, which was again the lowest amount across Canada (2014 – $446). The Transmission metric OM&A Costs per Book Value of Assets Managed is a proxy for the relative efficiency of the Transmission Utility operations. Transmission OM&A reflected strong resource management efforts during the year, which offset the impact of increasing third-party transportation costs to import natural gas from Alberta and reflects the Corporation’s commitment to efficient operations. Safety/Vigilance Efficiency does not come at the expense of a safe and reliable system, as acknowledged by the Corporation’s ongoing commitment to system integrity programming. Integrity-related budgets will be actively managed over the coming years while the Corporation continues to maintain strong results in the areas of gas leaks, failures, third-party line-hits and other integrity measures. Continued commitment to system integrity and asset management efforts will always be a key focus area for SaskEnergy and TransGas as the Corporation continues to look to the industry to ensure operations reflect best practices. As well, personnel from TransGas and SaskEnergy are active participants on industry committees that have been tasked with helping to define best practices as technology and tools continue to evolve. The targets related to safety and vigilance for both SaskEnergy and TransGas were achieved as a result of the continued focus the Corporation has placed on its risk-based integrity programming. Key initiatives undertaken by SaskEnergy throughout 2015 included the continuation of the service upgrade program on service lines throughout the Province, a major integrity initiative to ensure safe and reliable gas service in communities with possible slope movement, enhanced leak survey processes and the continuation of the damage prevention initiative aimed at reducing leaks due to external interference. TransGas continued its risk reduction efforts through in-line inspections, visual inspections and cathodic protection programs. SaskEnergy/TransGas’ investment in safety and integrity initiatives in 2015 was slightly above expected levels due to the mitigation and monitoring efforts required in communities with possible slope movement. Customer Satisfaction Perhaps the best indicator of SaskEnergy’s success in delivering safe, reliable and affordable services is formal feedback from its customers. Recognizing that customers are vital to the success of any business, both SaskEnergy and TransGas conduct annual surveys in an effort to gather feedback on customer expectations and overall satisfaction. The 2015 SaskEnergy survey results show strong levels of customer satisfaction within a number of key areas including reliable service, informing the public of safety-related initiatives and being environmentally responsible. In the 2015 survey, over three-quarters of customers indicated they are confident in SaskEnergy’s safety efforts. The TransGas customer survey results in 2015 continue to reflect strong satisfaction with TransGas business services despite challenges that have been encountered with the TransGas customer service interface system, which is expected to be completed in 2016-17.
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Management’s Discussion & Analysis
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