CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
• Appearances before public committees of the legislature, including Crown and Central Agencies, by senior executive to answer questions relating to the business of the Corporation in preceding years. • Compliance with public requests for information, balancing the interests of The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act . SaskEnergy also works cooperatively with CIC, the office of the Minister Responsible for SaskEnergy and Executive Council Communications to generate dialogue, understanding and support for corporate initiatives that affect stakeholders. These communications tools include briefing notes, face-to-face meetings and other information packages to ensure elected officials are able to represent the Corporation in the public and through the media, by speaking knowledgably on issues regarding the business operations of SaskEnergy. The Corporation is also expected to respond expediently to correspondence and case work submitted by the office of the Minister Responsible for SaskEnergy. PROJECT-BASED COMMUNICATIONS SaskEnergy’s distribution, transmission and storage projects can impact the communities in which they are occurring. In addition to fully complying with all legal and regulatory considerations, SaskEnergy will typically hold consultations with affected stakeholders in areas where projects are of greater scope or longer duration. Such communications initiatives include public open houses and meetings with local municipal councils, First Nations representatives and other stakeholders. These initiatives allow company officials to explain the environmental impacts of proposed activities, including proposed mitigation plans. They also provide opportunities to enhance general understanding of the projects economic benefits and of natural gas as a heating source. Because Saskatchewan has approximately 75 First Nations Bands and 11 Métis Regions, a dedicated Aboriginal Relations group exists to better foster consultation, dialogue and relations. REGULATORY COMMUNICATIONS SaskEnergy is required to file any applications for delivery and commodity rate changes with the SRRP, an advisory panel that provides formal recommendations to the Provincial Cabinet. The applications are available to the public. Typically, the SRRP will ask for additional information to assist in its review, and a public interaction component is provided through public meetings. SaskEnergy filed a delivery service rate increase application in July 2017, seeking a 3.6 per cent increase, with no change to the commodity rate. After SRRP review, the SaskEnergy
application was recommended to, and approved, by Cabinet in October. TransGas’ proposed rate changes are discussed through the TransGas Customer Dialogue, a proxy with representatives from the producer, industrial end-user and gas marketer communities. After rate changes are discussed through Dialogue, they are provided to the Provincial Cabinet for approval. TransGas did not introduce any rate changes during 2017-18; the most recent rate change was effective January 1, 2016, with an average rate increase of 3.0 per cent. EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS SaskEnergy regularly communicates with its workforce of approximately 1,100 employees to ensure prompt and accurate delivery of corporate information. A primary method of communication is the InfoFlash (a corporate memo containing relevant, business- related information) that is delivered via e-mail to all employees within the Corporation. In addition, SaskEnergy also employs a corporate Intranet site (innergy). This communication medium allows employees to access information related to the Corporation, stay informed on upcoming events and initiatives and link to internal departmental sites for specific department- related information. To ensure the accuracy and quality of information provided, innergy offers a two-way communication medium for employees to submit feedback regarding information on the website. SaskEnergy also produces corporate videos that serve as informative, educational tools to keep employees up-to- date on major projects that are taking place within the Corporation. The Corporation also maintains an “Open Line to the President”, a forum whereby employees are able to submit questions or comments for Executive response. Posted responses are available for all employees to view. In addition to the mediums mentioned above, SaskEnergy supports the use of meetings, presentations and face- to-face communication to deliver important messages to employees, such as safety messages, business and strategic plan information and employee survey results.
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