Saskatchewan Crown Collaboration Annual Report 2021-21
Rush Lake
SASKATCHEWAN CROWN CORPORATION COLLABORATION 2020-21
2020-21 at a Glance
• $44 MILLION in benefits achieved through collaboration, despite COVID challenges.
• SaskTel collaborated with the Ministry of Highways to collect snow plough asset data, consolidate the data into the Ministry’s analytics and GIS platform, and create data visualization dashboards.
• $13 MILLION in benefits achieved through Joint Infrastructure Initiative.
• The Diversity Inclusion Network coordinated National Indigenous Peoples Day events and Orange Shirt Day activities.
• 3,520 TONNES of greenhouse gas emissions were reduced through collaborative initiatives.
• Through the Demand Response program, SaskTel will utilize generators when SaskPower is experiencing high usage events. Generators must run regularly to ensure usability and maintenance, making this program mutually beneficial to both Crowns.
• $200 MILLION invested in Saskatchewan businesses through the Crowns’ procurement processes.
• Project Management Office was established to provide valuable project delivery for stakeholders and customers in Saskatchewan.
• $80 MILLION in contracts awarded to Indigenous suppliers.
• SaskEnergy leveraged an existing agreement between SaskPower and Moneris to implement a credit card payment solution for customers, greatly increasing the speed for implementation.
• $1.2 MILLION saved by establishing joint agreements on software licenses.
• $120,000 donated to the Food Banks of Saskatchewan Crisis Response Fund.
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................................................3 2020-21 Collaboration Initiatives – Total Hard Benefits...................................................................................4 Environmental Benefits. ...........................................................................................................................................5 2020-21 Realized Benefits and Five-Year Forecast............................................................................................6 Highlights of 2020-21 Collaboration Initiatives..................................................................................................8 COVID-19 Response..........................................................................................................................................8 Economic Recovery.........................................................................................................................................10 Indigenous Procurement................................................................................................................................12 Crown Collaboration Innovation..................................................................................................................13 Demand Response...........................................................................................................................................14 Shared Infrastructure.......................................................................................................................................15 Project Management Office...........................................................................................................................16 Software License Review................................................................................................................................ 17 Shared Services................................................................................................................................................. 17 Credit Card Payment Solution.......................................................................................................................18 Collaboration and Diversity............................................................................................................................18 Crown Collaboration Committees......................................................................................................................19 Board Chairs & Crown Presidents Committee Goals...............................................................................19 Board Chairs......................................................................................................................................................19 Crown Presidents............................................................................................................................................ 20 VP Designates & Working Committee Goals..............................................................................................21 VP Designates. ..................................................................................................................................................21 Working Committee........................................................................................................................................21 Appendix: Total Crown Collaboration Savings (2013 to 2020-21)............................................................... 23
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Waskesiu Lake, Prince Albert National Park
Introduction The overall objective of Crown collaboration is to drive benefits across the Crown sector, align to Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan and to support the Crown Sector Strategic Priorities. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the province, the focus for 2020-21 shifted to supporting customers and economic recovery, while continuing to drive both hard and soft benefits through collaboration. Despite challenges faced in 2020-21, collaborative work continued with several initiatives including: shared infrastructure, procurement, Crown collaboration innovation, and software license review. The Crowns continued to seek innovative opportunities which resulted in over $44M of benefits to the Crown sector. Crown collaboration will continue to explore new opportunities and potential initiatives such as cyber security, project delivery, shared procurement, and infrastructure investment. The Crowns are committed to Indigenous procurement and collaborating on supplier development opportunities, while also beginning a dialogue on expanding supplier diversity. The committee will work with Trade and Export Development (TED) to pursue new benefits, such as red tape reduction savings for businesses and the public. Treasury Board Crowns, ministries, and agencies will also be invited to help the Crowns work more effectively, be part of a larger community and benefit the province and economy overall. This report details existing and new collaboration initiatives, highlighting measurable results and successes, and provides a five-year forecast for hard benefits gained through Crown collaboration.
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2020-21 Collaboration Initiatives – Total Hard Benefits
Initiative
SaskPower
SaskTel
SaskEnergy
SGI
SaskWater SaskGaming
SOCO
Total
Bill Payments
0
$2,986
0
0
0
0
0
$2,986
CEO/CFO Certification - Shared Services with CIC
0
0
0
0 $20,000 $26,640 $20,000
$66,640
Data Center Colocation
$154,548
0
0 $187,000
0
0
0 $341,548
Enhanced Public Safety
0 $445,842
$9,000
0
0
0
0 $454,842
Express Address
$73,000 $45,000 $105,490
0
0
0
0 $223,490
Fibre Sharing
$4,540,000 $880,000
0
0
0
0
0 $5,420,000
0
0
0
0
0
0
Innovation - GIS:
$120,000
$120,000
Civic Address Data Share
0 $30,000
0
0
0
0
0 $30,000
Geocortex Knowledge Sharing
0 $10,000
0
0
0
0
0
$10,000
Innovation - Peak Demand/Demand Response $100,000 $40,577
0
0
0
0
0 $140,577
Installation of SCADA to reduce site inspections
0
0
0
0 $46,852
0
0
$46,852
Learning and Development
$4,500 $11,700
0
0
0
0
0
$16,200
Legal - Shared Services with CIC
0
0
0
0 $135,000 $105,000 $10,000 $250,000
Natural Gas Optimization
$202,865
0 $30,000
0
0
0
0 $232,865
Paperless Billing
$400,000
0
0
0
0
0
0 $400,000
Procurement:
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)
0
0
0
0 $58,000
0
0
$58,000
Car Rentals for Claim Customers
0
0
0 $1,390,000
0
0
0 $1,390,000
Copiers (Via SaskBuilds)
$7,500
$7,500
Employee Family Assistance Plan
$254,947
0
0
0
0
0
0 $254,947
Fleet Management
0
$15,143
0
0
0
0
0
$15,143
Human Resource Management System
0
0 $10,000
0
0
0
0
$10,000
Insurance**
0
0
0
0 $233,613
0
0
$793,122
ISF Security Membership
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 $294,000
Joint Infrastructure Installation
$7,683,188 $3,455,037 $1,900,000
0
0
0
0 $13,038,225
Line Locating
$6,265,187 $2,211,308 $3,838,000
0
0
0
0 $12,314,495
Managed Print Services
0
0
0 $43,000
0
0
0
$43,000
Mapping (Non-Ground Disturbance)
$25,089 $425,697
$20,000
0
0
0
0 $470,786
Microsoft Product Licensing
$508,734 $90,000 $250,726 $325,000
$41,700
0
0 $1,216,160
New Bill and Letter Print Services Provider
$475,000
0 $257,000
0
0
0
0 $732,000
New Connect Joint Services
$345,081
0
0
0
0
0
0 $345,081
Oracle License
0
0
0
0 $302,736
0
0 $302,736
Photocopier Management Program*
0
0
0
0
0
$9,600
0
$9,600
Recognition Program**
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
$37,922
Software Reseller and Licensing Service (Master Agreement with Compugen)*
0
0
0
0
0 $30,641
0
$30,641
Wireless Age (Standing Offer)*
0
0
0
0
0
$2,105
0
$2,105
Property Management
$30,200 $1,879,132
0
0
0
0
0 $1,909,332
Remote Diagnostics - Updating of Trans Gas SCADA
0
0
0
0
$25,468
0
0
$25,468
SaskPower Attaching Equipment to Towers
0 $165,000
0
0
0
0
0 $165,000
SaskPower Colocation for AMI Meter Reading Program
0 $1,260,652
0
0
0
0
0 $1,260,652
SaskWater/WSA Upset Line*
0
0
0
0 $18,000
0
0
$18,000
SCADA Leverage
0
0 $147,500
0
0
0
0 $147,500
SecurTek
0 $1,928,000
0
0
0
0
0 $1,928,000
SecurTek Providing Building Monitoring Services
$14,777
0
0
0
0
0
0
$14,777
Solar Panels
0
0
0
0 $20,000
0
0
$20,000
Total
$21,077,117 $12,896,074 $6,687,716 $1,945,000 $901,369 $173,986 $37,500 $44,610,193
* These initiatives do not meet the traditional definition of Crown collaboration, but resulted in hard benefits as a result of participation in Government. ** Hard benefits have been aggregated and are not separated across participating Crowns.
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Environmental Benefits In addition to cost savings, some of the Crown collaboration initiatives result in environmental benefits such as greenhouse gas (GHG) savings. The 2020-21 fiscal year saw an overall reduction of 3520 tonnes of CO2e. This was an improvement from the previous year’s reduction of 2862 tonnes of CO2e.
ESTIMATED GHG SAVINGS FROM CROWN COLLABORATION—2021-21
VEGETATION MANAGEMENT SaskTel and SaskEnergy use a common contractor for vegetation mangement. GHG Emission Reduction 23 tonnes of CO2e Based on estimated reduced driving for a second vehicle to spray facilities and converted to GHG with an emission factor.
FIBRE SHARE SaskPower and SaskTel partner for installation of fibre. GHG Emission Reduction 201 tonnes of CO2e
Based on avoiding a second installation team to install the line. Estimate is based on average fuel usage converted to GHG with an emission factor.
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COLLABORATION SaskPower uses the SaskTel building on Sandra Schmirler Way in Regina, reducing emissions from utilities (natural gas and power). GHG Emission Reduction 566 tonnes of CO2e Based on actual facility natural gas and power usage and converted to GHG with emissions factors. JOINT INFRASTRUCTURE INSTALLATION SaskTel, SaskPower and SaskEnergy partner on joint infrastructure installation. GHG Emission Reduction 1112 tonnes of CO2e Based on avoiding a second installation team to construct similar conduits. Estimate is based on average fuel usage converted to GHG with an emission factor. LINE LOCATE SaskEnergy, SaskPower, and SaskTel partner on line locating. GHG Emission Reduction 1618 tonnes of CO2e Based on not requiring a multiple teams to locate the facility. Estimate is based on average fuel usage converted to GHG with an emission factor. GRAND TOTAL 3520 tonnes of CO2e
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2020-21 Realized Benefits and Five-Year Forecast
Total Five-Year Forecast (2021-22 to 2025-26)
2020-21 Realized Benefits
2020-21 Forecast
2021-22 Forecast
2022-23 Forecast
2023-24 Forecast
2024-25 Forecast
2025-26 Forecast
Initiative
Bill Payments
$2,986
$8,873
$2,872
$2,684
$2,465
$2,257
$2,056
$12,333
CEO/CFO Certification - Shared Services with CIC
$66,640
$66,640 $66,640
$66,640 $66,640 $66,640
$66,640
$333,200
Data Center Colocation
$341,548
$334,548 $334,548 $334,548 $334,548 $154,548
$154,548
$1,312,740
Enhanced Public Safety
$454,842
$580,565 $486,550 $464,373 $442,254 $423,141
$404,984
$2,221,303
Engineering (Grounding Expertise/ Induction/Cathodic Protection - SME/Standard Sharing)
0
$10,000
$10,000
$10,000 $10,000 $10,000
$10,000
$50,000
Express Address
$223,490
$157,000 $228,000 $228,000 $228,000 $228,000
$228,000
$1,140,000
Fibre Sharing
$5,420,000 $6,480,000 $5,400,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000
0
$6,900,000
Innovation - GIS:
$120,000
0 $120,000 $120,000 $105,000 $105,000
$105,000
$555,000
CIC Expanded Data Sharing Agreement
0
$10,000
$10,000
$10,000 $10,000 $10,000
$10,000
$50,000
Civic Address Data Share
$30,000
$80,000 $30,000
$30,000 $30,000 $30,000
$30,000
$150,000
Infrastructure Data Sharing
0
$125,000
$75,000
$75,000 $75,000 $75,000
$75,000
$375,000
Mobile Deployment/ GPS Exchange
0
$15,000
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$25,000
Geocortex Knowledge Sharing
$10,000
$20,000
$10,000
$10,000 $10,000 $10,000
$10,000
$50,000
Innovation - Peak Demand/ Demand Response Installation of SCADA to reduce site inspections
$140,577
$590,152 $420,000 $620,000 $820,000 $1,020,000 $1,020,000
$3,900,000
$46,852
$46,852
$46,852
$46,852
$46,852
$46,852
$46,852
$234,260
Learning and Development
$16,200
$2,400
$9,131
$7,632
$6,133
$6,135
$6,136
$35,167
Legal - Shared Services with CIC $250,000
$170,000 $245,000 $245,000 $245,000 $245,000
$245,000
$1,225,000
Natural Gas Optimization
$232,865
$489,100 $250,000 $150,000 $150,000 $150,000
$150,000
$850,000
Paperless Billing
$400,000
0 $114,000
0
0
0
0
$114,000
Procurement:
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Car Rentals for Claim Customers
$58,000
$58,000 $58,000
$58,000 $58,000 $58,000
$58,000
$290,000
$1,390,000 $2,200,000 $2,000,000 $2,500,000 $2,500,000 $2,500,000
0
$9,500,000
Copiers (Via SaskBuilds)
$7,500
0
$7,500
$7,500
$7,500
$7,500
$7,500
$37,500
Employee Family Assistance Plan
$254,947
$253,942 $253,942
$253,942 $253,942 $253,942
$253,942
$1,269,710
Fleet Management
$15,143
$15,143
$15,143
$11,357
0
0
0
$26,500
Forrester License
0
0
$23,972
$23,972
0
0
0
$47,944
Human Resource Management System
$10,000
$10,000
$10,000
$10,000 $10,000 $10,000
$10,000
$50,000
Insurance
$793,122
$736,613 $932,999 $1,002,938 $1,079,870 $1,164,496 $1,257,584
$5,437,887
ISF Security Membership
$294,000
$294,000 $294,000 $294,000 $294,000 $294,000
$294,000
$1,470,000
Joint Infrastructure Installation
$13,038,225 $10,372,457 $15,552,850 $4,855,270 $2,300,315 $3,296,145 $1,530,000 $27,534,580
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Total Five-Year Forecast (2021-22 to 2025-26)
2020-21 Realized Benefits
2020-21 Forecast
2021-22 Forecast
2022-23 Forecast
2023-24 Forecast
2024-25 Forecast
2025-26 Forecast
Initiative
Line Locating
$12,314,495 $11,119,331 $12,770,978 $12,627,026 $13,319,503 $14,091,424 $14,365,518
$67,174,449
Managed Print Services
$43,000
$110,000 $65,000 $110,000
0
0
0
$175,000
Mapping (Non-Ground Disturbance)
$470,786
$512,744 $500,492
$533,619 $580,913 $621,466
$632,463
$2,868,951
Microsoft Product Licensing
$1,216,160
$592,426 $1,161,160 $1,161,160 $1,011,160 $292,426
$292,426
$3,918,332
New Bill and Letter Print Services Provider
$732,000
$732,000 $732,000 $732,000 $732,000 $732,000
$257,000
$3,185,000
New Connect Joint Services
$345,081
0 $254,000 $301,000 $320,000 $421,000
$450,000
$1,746,000
Oracle License
$302,736
$302,736 $302,736 $302,736 $302,736 $302,736
$302,736
$1,513,680
Photocopier Management Program*
$9,600
$9,600
$9,600
$9,600
$9,600
$9,600
$9,600
$48,000
Recognition Program
$37,922
$37,922
$37,922
$37,922
$37,922
0
0
$113,766
Software Reseller and Licensing Service (Master Agreement with Compugen)*
$30,641
$30,641
$30,641
$30,641
$30,641
$30,641
$30,641
$153,205
Wireless Age (Standing Offer)*
$2,105
$1,996
$2,100
$2,100
$2,100
$2,100
$2,100
$10,500
$190,368
$7,318,225
Property Management
$1,909,332
$1,953,191 $1,954,014 $1,961,162 $1,958,941 $1,253,741
Remote Diagnostics - Updating of Trans Gas SCADA SaskPower Attaching Equipment to Towers SaskPower Colocation for AMI Meter Reading Program
$25,468
$25,468
$25,468
$25,468
$25,468
$25,468
$25,468
$127,340
$165,000
$165,000 $165,000 $165,000
0
0
0
$330,000
$1,260,652
0 $1,260,652 $1,260,652 $1,260,652 $1,260,652
$1,386,717
$6,429,325
SaskWater/WSA Upset Line*
$18,000
$18,000
$18,000
$18,000 $18,000 $18,000
$18,000
$90,000
SCADA Leverage
$147,500
$147,500 $147,500 $147,500 $147,500 $147,500
$147,500
$737,500
SecurTek
$1,928,000 $1,900,000 $2,000,000 $2,500,000 $3,000,000 $3,500,000 $3,700,000 $14,700,000
SecurTek Providing Building Monitoring Services
$14,777
$16,695
$14,777
$14,777
$14,777
$14,777
$14,777
$73,885
Small Cells on Street Lights
0
0
0
$25,680 $25,680
0
0
$51,360
Solar Panels
$20,000
$20,000 $28,000
$36,000 $44,000 $44,000
$44,000
$196,000
Total Forecast (Existing Initiatives) $44,610,193 $40,821,534 $48,492,039 $33,944,750 $32,432,111 $33,439,187 $27,849,555 $176,157,642
Aspirational Target (New Initiatives) Crown Balanced Scorecard Target**
0 $1,507,961 $17,055,250 $19,587,889 $19,621,213 $26,272,053
$84,044,366
0
0 $50,000,000 $51,000,000 $52,020,000 $53,060,400 $54,121,608 $260,202,008
0
* These initiatives do not meet the traditional definition of Crown collaboration, but resulted in hard benefits as a result of participation in Government. ** In the Fall of 2020, the CIC Board directed Crown collaboration be included as a measure on each Crown’s balanced scorecard and as part of salary holdback calculations for 2021-22. The target for 2021-22 is $50M and includes cost savings and red tape reduction savings by the Crowns and participating Treasury Board Crowns, agencies and ministries. The target is to be achieved by the Crowns as a sector, there are not individual targets for each Crown. The CIC Board has not yet approved targets for FY2022-23 and beyond, but will strive for 2% growth each year.
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Highlights of 2020-21 Collaboration Initiatives
COVID-19 RESPONSE When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Saskatchewan, the Crowns knew quick action had to be taken to support customers. Whether it was deferring bill payments, waiving data overages, implementing COVID-safe installs or raising money for families in need, the Crowns took initiative under the guidance of the provincial government to help the people of Saskatchewan manage these difficult times. The Business Continuity Management primes from the Crowns engaged in discussions with Crown peers to understand and share information about their respective pandemic responses, including mask use in the work place, contact tracing protocols, back to work strategy and plan (2020 and 2021) as well as the use of rapid test kits. The examples below highlight initiatives and success stories from our Crowns. SaskPower and SaskEnergy Joint Repayment Arrangement Form When the Province announced the Utility Bill Interest Waiver Program in mid-March 2020, SaskPower and SaskEnergy customers who were financially impacted by the pandemic were given the option to defer bill payments, interest free, for a six-month period. At the end of this period, customers who had taken advantage of the program were to contact SaskEnergy and SaskPower to make repayment arrangements. All outstanding amounts were to be paid within 12-months beginning September 18, 2020. As there was no formal sign up for the program, there was concern that phone queues would be overwhelmed with customers trying to make payment arrangements in a timely manner. To ensure this did not happen, SaskEnergy and SaskPower collaborated on the development of a joint repayment arrangement form that was available on the SaskPower website. A link to this form was on the SaskEnergy website and allowed customers to make their repayment arrangements for both utilities efficiently. This collaboration involved re-purposing an existing form on the SaskPower website and adding the SaskEnergy link and account numbers. This resulted in significant savings related to IT development and configuration time, avoided long wait times for customers in the phone queues, and eliminated the anticipated over time for Customer Service Representatives in both Crowns. Estimated operating savings for 2020-21 are approximately $85,000.
security of employees and customers in communities across Saskatchewan. In 2020-21, SaskEnergy added 3,000 customers to its distribution system and maintained 99.99% reliability. SaskTel technicians serve customers safely Over the last year, the workload for SaskTel’s customer service and facilities technicians grew significantly to accommodate increased requests for upgrades and new connections for internet and TV services. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the operations team found safe and innovative ways to deliver services to customers’ homes. Since March 2020, the team saw an increase of 14,000 installs from the previous year. Technicians were already visiting approximately 1,000 homes and businesses per day, so they had to become more creative in their approach to customer requests. The technicians involved in the installation and repair process adjusted their safety protocols and work procedures to ensure the safety of employees and customers by asking pre-screening questions, wearing masks, social distancing and sanitizing their tools and hands. There are many examples around the province of how technicians creatively delivered services. For example, they created mini offices right in their vans to program routers, set up Wi-Fi, and program set top boxes. They would then leave the sanitized equipment on the customer’s doorstep and walk them through the install by phone, Facetime or Zoom. Even with the increased customer service activity over the past year, no COVID-19 cases have been linked to technicians being in a customer home. This is a testament to how well the PPE, screening and sanitization procedures worked, but most importantly how much care technicians took in following safe procedures. SaskTel President and CEO Doug Burnett echoes that pride. “I continue to be impressed with the creativity of our technicians to deliver our services safely. I’m very proud of how our employees adapted and responded to provide communication services for our customers.”
Other ways that SaskTel supported its customers include:
• Leveraged relationships with equipment manufacturers and other service providers to procure thousands of additional devices for health, protective services, First Nations, education, and government agencies. • For a limited time during the pandemic, SaskTel waived data overage charges for wireless and
SaskEnergy serves and supports customers
SaskEnergy, like other Crowns, experienced abnormal business and operating conditions. SaskEnergy implemented measures in light of COVID-19 to continue to provide safe and reliable natural gas service to customers without compromising the safety and
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fusion internet customers, kept internet plans unlimited, and provided complimentary news and entertainment channels to maxTV service and maxTV Stream customers. • Stores and dealers remained open to provide essential services with additional steps taken to protect customers and employees. • The call center trained additional staff to take customer calls in order to keep wait times low. • Offered interest free bill deferrals for up to six months and a 12-month repayment plan to provide relief to customers. • Provided a two-month service credit to SaskTel
regarding COVID-19. SGI also doubled the amount of all SGI scholarships in recognition of the corporation’s 75th anniversary in 2020 and to help support students who may face additional financial pressures because of the pandemic. SaskWater provides uninterrupted service Despite the complexities of staff working remotely and the adjustments needed to ensure safe working conditions for essential workers, SaskWater customers did not experience service interruptions attributed to the pandemic. SaskWater responded quickly and implemented measures to ensure that employees could safely provide customers with vital water services. Operators in SaskWater facilities and in the field implemented extra safety protocols and alternate work schedules to limit the risk of in-person contact as they kept water and wastewater facilities operational. Thanks to these proactive strategies, there were no service interruptions for SaskWater customers because of COVID-19. SaskWater also implemented remote working conditions in late March and began the 2020–21 fiscal year with approximately half of their staff working from home. Virtual meetings and conference calls became the norm and a dedicated team continued to monitor provincial COVID-19 restrictions, update guidelines and protocols and communicate changes to staff. The majority of customers continued to pay their bills in the same manner as they had pre-pandemic. A handful of customers chose to defer their payments through the Crown Utility Interest Waiver Program and no customers took advantage of the Deferred Payment Plan option offered in November of 2020. SaskWater was also able to advance a number of infrastructure projects that contributed to the province’s economic recovery effort including the expansion and upgrades to SaskWater’s regional water treatment plant in Melfort and an expansion of the Pierceland wastewater lagoon. Both of these projects received partial funding through the New Building Canada Fund (NBCF).
customers currently signed up for the federal government’s Connecting Families initiative.
• Extended the seasonal disconnect option for up to six additional months to support customers unable to open their seasonal properties. SaskPower maintains a reliable power grid For the province’s electrical utility, the top priority is to ensure the health and safety of customers and employees while maintaining the reliability and security of the electrical grid through all conditions, including COVID-19. As an essential service, SaskPower had over 1,200 field employees working onsite, safely and successfully managing throughout COVID-19. SaskPower also transitioned over 2,300 employees to remote work arrangements in late March 2020. Employees in power plants, power line technicians, employees at our grid control centre, and meter readers adapted their work to ensure physical distancing from customers and coworkers. By taking additional action, SaskPower was able to continue service to all customers. We also continued major construction projects during the pandemic, including the new Great Plains Power Station in Moose Jaw, the Golden South Wind Facility in Assiniboia, the Blue Hill Wind Facility near Herbert, and Saskatchewan’s first-eve utility-scale solar facility, Highfield Solar, which is southeast of Swift Current. SaskPower remains on-track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. SGI supports customers and students SGI provided payment options for both Auto Fund and SGI CANADA customers to help relieve financial pressures and waived fees for insufficient funds. Road tests were temporarily suspended, but Saskatchewan was the first province in Canada to resume road testing through an innovative approach that minimized the risk
Crowns step up to support Saskatchewan Food Bank
In a joint Crown initiative, SaskTel, SaskEnergy, SaskPower, and SGI each pledged $25,000 to the Food Banks of Saskatchewan Crisis Response Fund in support of its efforts to ensure that no one in Saskatchewan went hungry during these difficult times. Contributions were also made by CIC ($5000), SaskGaming ($16,680), and Crown employees.
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ECONOMIC RECOVERY Recognizing the challenges faced by industries, businesses, and residents during the past year, the Crowns remained dedicated to supporting Saskatchewan. The following initiatives highlight the Crown sector’s commitment to the province, its people, and the economy. Pierceland Supply Project In 2020-21, SaskEnergy constructed a 30-kilometre pipeline from the Nova Gas Transmission Limited (Nova) meter station east of Cherry Grove, AB to the TransGas meter station east of Beacon Hill, SK. In addition, a new compressor station was constructed near the west end of the pipeline, in Saskatchewan. This station ensures proper pressure is maintained, which allows for safe and efficient gas transportation throughout the system. The project consisted of 1.7 kilometers of pipeline in Alberta and 29.2 kilometers in Saskatchewan, and, once in service, will provide 82 terajoules of additional natural gas flow into Saskatchewan to support customers throughout the province. The following is a summary of the services awarded to Saskatchewan-based contractors:
30 kilometers of pipe, while the second spread consists of approximately 55 kilometers of pipe. After an extensive evaluation process, the project was awarded to Mastec Canada Inc. and Canadian Plains Energy Services Limited, both of which have active operations in Saskatchewan. The total investment for this project is $58M.
Supporting Saskatchewan Businesses SaskEnergy : In early 2021, SaskEnergy encouraged employees to support local and Indigenous-owned businesses through an article posted on its internal website. The article gave suggestion on how to support these businesses within the internal policy framework. “It’s always been important to SaskEnergy to support our local economy,” says Brent Hales – Purchasing Agent. “But with the current COVID-19 pandemic and the downturn in the economy, it’s more essential than ever to support our province’s local and Indigenous-owned businesses. If SaskEnergy can assist these companies by sourcing goods and services for smaller projects or for regular operations, it could mean keeping their people employed, their bills paid and their doors open.” SaskEnergy continues to support the people and business of Saskatchewan. 2020-21 recorded over $150M in purchase orders to Saskatchewan businesses. SaskPower : In, April 2020, SaskPower quickly recognized many businesses would struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic and stepped up to the challenge to support Saskatchewan. SaskPower’s Procurement team collaborated with Power Production to identify advancements of work that could be quickly executed under this initiative, hence the project name “Shovel-Ready”. The work provided engagement for suppliers, addressed long term
Mechanical Piping – Viking (Swift Current)
Mechanical Piping – Site Resource Group (Macoun)
Pierceland Office & Shop – Quorex (Saskatoon)
Pipeline Installation – Canadian Plains (White City)
Tree Clearing – Majic Environmental (Unity)
Site Preparation – Accurate Industries (Pierceland)
Total investment: $30.6M
Rosetown to Vanscoy Expansion Project Beginning in June 2021, SaskEnergy is constructing an 86-kilometer high-pressure natural gas pipeline that will begin at its existing compressor station near Rosetown and tie into the natural gas system near Vanscoy. The expansion project will increase the transportation capacity of the natural gas system and bring additional supply to the area to meet residential, commercial, and industrial demand. Construction of a pipeline of this size and scope would typically be completed by larger out-of-province contractors; however, to allow for more competition from local pipe liners, SaskEnergy broke the project up into two spreads. The first consists of approximately
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IP-based technologies and services available. As of March 31, 2021, SaskTel’s wireline broadband network reached nearly twice as many communities as its closest competitor, offering internet service in a total of 463 communities, with 345 communities having access to download speeds of up to 50 Mbps or faster. During the pandemic, SaskTel’s networks saw a substantial increase in traffic flow, breaking an all-time data usage record in late December 2020. Thanks to SaskTel’s continual investments and enhancements, its robust networks continued to keep customers connected to what mattered most to them.
reliability issues at the plants and helped stimulate the Saskatchewan economy. The list included advancements of work from spring to fall, covering all plants across the province with the intent to engage local vendors, including Indigenous vendors, to complete the full list of procurements.
The completed initiative resulted in:
• 103 procurements completed for this specific project. • Total value awarded ~$21M (including $5M to Indigenous vendors)
Some of these investments and enhancements included:
SaskTel : For the 2020-21 Fibre to the x (FTTx) program construction season, SaskTel spent $40.6M on construction services. Of that that total, $29.2M (72%) was spent with vendors based or with offices and staff in Saskatchewan. As community commitment was not a requirement at the time of these procurement events, SaskTel did not evaluate on local “content”. However, vendors from out of province sourced Saskatchewan labour to complete the construction. One of the main material inputs for the FTTx program is high-density pipe or conduit. SaskTel’s conduit partner is Iconix Waterworks, based in Saskatoon. SaskTel spent $2.4M on conduit in 2020-21. SaskGaming : Despite Casinos Regina and Moose Jaw being temporarily closed twice in 2020-21, the corporation continued with its renovations in order to support the Saskatchewan construction industry and sub- trades, contributing approximately $5.3M to this sector. Overall, SaskGaming contributed more than $18M to Saskatchewan vendors, representing 86% of all purchasing commitments Keeping Customers Connected How we connect with one another has drastically changed in a very short time frame. The COVID-19 pandemic further underscored the critical importance of our network and communications technologies. Throughout 2020-21, SaskTel invested $308.2M in capital expenditures to ensure customers enjoyed some of the most advanced wireless, internet, television, data, and
• As part of the Wireless Saskatchewan initiative, SaskTel announced an additional 74 new macro towers at an estimated investment of $72.2M. As of March 31, 2021, 55 of these towers were put into service, 85 cellular sites were completed, and 221 carrier additions were made to increase capacity of cell sites. • A continued expansion of maxTV Stream, along with interNET Extended 25 and 50. Dozens of rural communities saw their internet speeds increase and maxTV Stream is now available in 388 communities throughout Saskatchewan. • Across the province, Wireline High Speed Internet is available in 463 communities and SaskTel fusion Internet service is available from 105 wireless towers serving more than 700 communities. • In December 2020, SaskTel announced the launch of its Rural Fibre Initiative, a multiphase project that will see SaskTel bring infiNET service to approximately 30,000 households and businesses across more than 20 rural communities by the end of 2024. During the first phase of the initiative, SaskTel plans to bring infiNET service to Balgonie, Biggar, Langham, and Pilot Butte. To deploy fibre sooner than currently planned, SaskTel will spend $50M to further expand fibre to an additional 24 communities beyond those in the current 5-year plan. SaskTel will develop a plan to complete construction in these communities within two years (FY2022-23 and FY2023-24). This will require SaskTel to expedite its current fibre deployment plans to complete construction by Fall 2023.
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INDIGENOUS PROCUREMENT The Crown Collaboration Committee for Indigenous Procurement was formed to promote alignment and grow opportunities for Indigenous procurement across the Saskatchewan commercial Crown sector. The committee was initially comprised of SaskPower, SaskTel, SaskEnergy and SGI with support from Crown Investments Corporation but quickly grew to include all commercial Crown corporations, SaskBuilds, Trade and Export Development, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, and the City of Regina. Led by SaskPower, the committee works together to share best practices in Indigenous engagement strategies and supplier development initiatives while ensuring that there is alignment with CIC and Priority Saskatchewan direction. Throughout 2020-21, the committee built upon the work done the previous year and awarded nearly $80M in contracts to Indigenous suppliers despite challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Strategy and Supporting Initiatives in January 2021 to become a signatory to the Sask Chamber of Commerce Indigenous Engagement Charter and has committed to meeting 3-5 year Indigenous spend targets. • SaskPower achieved its highest dollar value to date for Indigenous Procurement in 2020-21. Significant awards included a large electrical installation, wood pole inspection and remediation, vegetation management and fabrication. They registered 24 new Indigenous suppliers, for a total of 284. • SGI implemented an Indigenous Strategy and steering committee and introduced evaluation and weighting for proposals. They hired Indigenous facilitators to work with Northern communities to develop community-based solutions to reduce harms associated with alcohol, and one of the suppliers in its claims area will be funding an Indigenous initiative in 2021-22. • SaskGaming maintained its essential service and maintenance contracts despite the casinos being closed most of 2020-21 due to COVID-19 restrictions. • SaskWater implemented an Indigenous Procurement policy and procedures document, including the addition of points to its evaluation matrices and will be reporting on its Indigenous content. Canada North Environmental Services was contracted to evaluate the use of Spikerush for weed management along its canals, as well as to conduct Indigenous engagement on several projects. They also completed the Pierceland Lagoon Expansion via a contractor with 43% Indigenous content.
Highlights include:
• SaskEnergy’s Procurement team implemented an Indigenous Procurement Policy and worked with multiple Indigenous vendors including Accurate Industries and Pinehouse Business North (Civil construction), JNE (material fabrication and signs), STC Industrial Contracting (Fabrication), and Can-North Environmental (Environmental Services). • SaskTel added an Indigenous Procurement section to its Procurement Policy and began including weighted questions in appropriate market events to award points to Indigenous-owned business. SaskTel submitted its Indigenous Engagement
Indigenous Procurement by Crown
Crown
2020-21 Spend
SaskPower
$61,000,000
SaskEnergy
$15,000,000
SaskGaming
$1,300,000
SaskWater
$1,000,000
SaskTel
$780,000
SGI
$322,400
TOTAL
$78,402,400
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CROWN COLLABORATION INNOVATION
Crown collaboration innovation continues with a number of goals in support of the Crown Sector Strategic Priorities and Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan, such as:
• Growing revenues.
• Supporting growth and innovation within the technology sector by working with start-ups for mutual benefit and co-developing services based on mutual strengths. • Collaborating with Crowns and government to benefit the province and people of Saskatchewan. Crown collaboration innovation continues ith number of goals in support of ll i i v io i it f l i f
i
the Crown Sector Strategic Priorities and Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan, such as: i i i ’ l , :
Examples of key innovation successes from 2020-21 include: Ministry of Highways (MoH) SaskTel was introduced to the MoH Operations business unit, which provided an overview of its key challenges. From this list of challenges, MoH prioritized management of their snow plough fleet as an initial area of focus and opportunity. As a result, SaskTel is working closely with the MoH team to aid in collecting snow plough asset data, consolidating this data into MoH’s analytics and GIS platform, and creating data visualization dashboards. This aligns with MoH’s vision of both fleet management as well as other potential future initiatives. Innovation Saskatchewan Innovation Saskatchewan invited SaskTel to participate in the Northern Food Innovation Challenge, a pan-Canadian challenge where organizations come up with innovative strategies to strengthen the food systems in the northern territories. SaskTel hosted and participated in sessions across the province. All teams presented to a panel of Deputy Ministers, and SaskTel was on the winning team with its Connected Greenhouse concept! With a $5,000 budget and five-week timeline, SaskTel collaborated with the Ministry of Agriculture’s Lead Agronomist and delivered a proof of concept in Robertson Greenhouse. The Ministry of Agriculture created a new Senior Indigenous Advisor role and SaskTel has been approached to re-engage in a Connected Greenhouse initiative, this time working directly with both the Ministry and an Indigenous community.
River City Innovations
Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) was brought to SaskTel’s attention through the Saskatchewan start- up community. LoRaWAN is a cost-effective means of providing low-bandwidth. Internet of Things (IOT) networking for both cities and rural areas. Through SaskTel’s build of this network, availability is open to all, enabling greater access and reduced costs for both entrepreneurs and end users. In addition to helping enable River City Innovation’s (RCI) Asset Tracker solution, the launch of the network and the relationship with SaskTel contributed to RCI’s success in receiving an investment from the Conexus Credit Union Venture Capital fund. Hyon SaskTel partnered with Hyon and generated revenue by allowing Hyon’s verified sellers to sell used furniture. SaskTel previously paid a vendor to discard of the furniture. Hyon provides SaskTel with an environmentally sustainable way of disposing of unneeded furnishings. FIX IT UP FIX IT UP is a quoting software that pairs businesses to users looking for a quote. SaskTel’s partnership with FIX IT UP saves the company time when seeking quotes and drives cost savings by increasing bid competitions.
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Saskatchewan Legislative Building Regina
DEMAND RESPONSE
or needs to purchase power off the open grid during high usage events. The agreement touches on two of SaskTel’s strategic goals: delivering an exceptional customer experience and maximizing long-term financial sustainability. Besides delivering a beneficial service to SaskPower, SaskTel will benefit by being financially compensated for this program by SaskPower. And since SaskTel is required to run their generators during regular monthly intervals to ensure their continued usability and maintenance, this program will allow these generator runs to be completed at times where it is mutually beneficial to both SaskPower and SaskTel. This project is a great example of how our Crowns can leverage existing solutions in place, and with minor adjustments, capitalize on them in a different way.
In May 2018, an innovation session was held with representatives from Saskatchewan’s Crown corporations. From that session, an interesting idea emerged that eventually resulted in Demand Response. Discussions began on the feasibility of SaskTel and SaskPower coordinating a way to leverage existing generator infrastructure to curtail commercial power consumption during peak power usage within the province. Thus, the creation of the Demand Response agreement between SaskTel and SaskPower was formed. In the spirit of Crown collaboration, SaskPower and SaskTel formed a small team to explore the feasibility of the idea. In 2020, a renewed focus presented itself with a group from SaskTel who took on sponsorship, a leadership role within operations, and technical support. The hard work and collaboration between the Crowns paid off with the signing of the Demand Response contract on December 1, 2020. Demand Response is a SaskPower program that lowers the demand on the power system by paying larger customers to reduce or shift power use. The program will have SaskTel utilize its generators on Lorne Street, effectively shifting power from grid to 100% generator created for the Lorne St. buildings. These requests will happen when SaskPower is at risk of overloading the grid
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SHARED INFRASTRUCTURE
When it comes to the delivery of large-scale programs like SaskTel’s FTTx program, joint use agreements help SaskTel build out its fibre network. SaskTel has agreements in place with SaskPower for both its aerial and buried fibre programs. In the case of aerial delivery where SaskTel utilizes SaskPower poles to place its facilities, the SaskPower aerial agreement governs the terms and conditions of the telecommunication wired attachments on SaskPower’s urban distribution poles. Guided by this agreement, the two Crown corporation work collaboratively to ensure that SaskPower’s distribution poles have sufficient structural capacity. SaskPower upgrades the poles to a higher class where required to ensure they can withstand the additional fiber while also reliably supporting its own electrical infrastructure. The poles are upgraded through cost sharing with SaskTel. “This agreement has effectively helped us to expand our infiNET service to more communities in our province,” says Tim Ludwar, Director – FTTP (Operations). “Because of the volume of work SaskTel does, we are able to get better pricing on some of the infrastructure work required to deliver infiNET so both SaskTel and SaskPower can take advantage of volume costs.” The agreement has also helped SaskTel deliver infiNET over aerial in communities beyond the nine major centers initially announced at the start of the infiNET program. With the agreement in place, SaskTel has worked with SaskPower to help in the delivery of fibre over aerial in Melfort, Tisdale, Nipawin, Humboldt, and Melville. Also, SaskTel is able to extend its infiNET services to an additional 20 rural communities as announced last December as part of its rural fibre initiative.
The agreement creates an advantageous scenario when compared to one in which SaskTel would have to install their own poles, which would require gaining easement from cities and towns and procuring contractors and materials. “This would take significant effort let alone having two pole structures would not be very palatable for cities, towns or our customers,” said Tim. “In many cases, we already rent space on the poles where we need to get to so we would be ‘doubling down’ on pole structures plus then having to maintain our poles for years to come.” With the buried fibre program, SaskPower, SaskTel, and their customers all benefit from the delivery of FTTx program by SaskTel. Working collaboratively, SaskTel uses a boring process to lay fibre for its infiNET program underground. SaskPower uses the same underground path to lay its buried infrastructure. The joint delivery of service subsidizes the cost of the boring. Other benefits realized from this collaboration include a reduction of customer and environmental impacts by mitigating at risk aging infrastructure such as cable, pedestals, and transformers, reducing customer outages and disruption. “The result is communities are getting new infrastructure like infiNET and SaskPower services through all of this collaboration. It gives SaskPower ability to serve their customers better as we are putting fibre in for our customers,” said Tim. “From a customer perspective, it’s very good.”
Grain storage silos
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