SASKENERGY 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT
Business Growth Investment SaskEnergy’s growth strategy continues to enhance the foundation of its core businesses of transmission, distribution and storage services to support a growing residential, commercial and industrial customer base. In addition, the Corporation seeks new opportunities to facilitate provincial economic growth through partnerships and technology developments. SaskEnergy’s distribution utility customer base as at March 31, 2019 was 397,367, which is an increase of 2,775 active, metered customers compared to 3,706 in 2017-18. The transmission system experienced provincial load growth of 12.9 per cent due primarily to increased demand in the enhanced oil recovery, power generation and mining sectors. These major transmission customers are expected to continue to grow and expand their operations, further increasing demand for natural gas. Efficient Operations and Competitive Rates There is a continued focus on efficiency while maintaining a sustainable level of spending to achieve strategic goals and high customer service levels. In alignment with the Crown Sector Priority of financial stability, and a continued emphasis on operational efficiency, SaskEnergy is committed to the cost-effective delivery of natural gas services to its customers. In 2018-19, the Corporation realized approximately $4 million in efficiency and process improvement savings. These efforts are reflected in the Operation, Maintenance and Administration Costs per Customer measure and in SaskEnergy’s continued ability to successfully offer competitive residential delivery rates to its customers. In 2018-19, SaskEnergy achieved its goal of having competitive residential delivery rates with the major utilities across Canada. A typical residential customer in Regina paid $537 for delivery service in 2018-19, which is the third-lowest in Canada. Hamilton, Ontario remains the lowest with a rate of $416. SaskEnergy had the fifth-lowest total residential natural gas utility rate (delivery and commodity combined) in Canada in 2018-19. SaskEnergy provides price protection for its distribution customers through the practice of hedging natural gas purchases. As a result, customers typically pay higher costs for natural gas but are not subject to the volatility of market prices. Customers have consistently provided positive survey
responses to questions about stable natural gas prices as opposed to prices that move with the market. In 2018-19, TransGas results were better than target with respect to its efficiency metric. TransGas’ commitment to efficient operations was demonstrated primarily through its resource management efforts. Customer Satisfaction SaskEnergy believes that a true indicator of the Corporation’s success in delivering safe and reliable service is formal feedback from customers. Continuing to provide high levels of customer service that are efficient and effective is a key objective for the Corporation. SaskEnergy and TransGas conduct annual surveys in an effort to gather feedback on customer experiences, expectations and overall satisfaction. SaskEnergy recognizes customers’ expectations are changing. To meet those expectations, SaskEnergy is preparing a modernized experience for customers. This includes refreshed website content designed to more effectively meet the expectations of customers. SaskEnergy’s customer satisfaction survey, completed in 2018-19, indicated 90 per cent of customers are satisfied with SaskEnergy’s service delivery. Key drivers to this year’s results are being a company that takes initiative to meet customers’ needs, providing high standards of customer service, and maintaining among the lowest natural gas rates in Canada. The TransGas customer survey results indicated that 84 per cent of customers are satisfied with TransGas’ customer services and interactions with the customer service team. The key driver of this year’s decrease in the results relate to customer concerns with the business system. TransGas continues to explore opportunities for improvements in this area through system builds and enhancements.
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