SaskEnergy Incorporated is a

Crown corporation Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

of the Saskatchewan government, responsible for delivering and selling

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. The company owns 70,000 kilometres of distribution pipelines, 15,000 kilometres of transmission pipelines, and serves over 405,000 customers. It is governed by The SaskEnergy Act and is the designated subsidiary of Crown Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan. Natural gas gathering, treatment, compression, storage, and ''intra''provincial transmission is done via their wholly-owned subsidiary TransGas, and ''inter''provincial natural gas transmission is done via their subsidiary Many Islands Pipelines. Natural gas distribution and marketing is done by SaskEnergy itself.

History

Although natural gas has been used for cooking for thousands of years, and for lighting for hundreds of years, natural gas home heating did not become popular until the mid-20th century. In

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

, most natural gas networks were created by the existing

electric utilities An electric utility, or a power company, is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and Electricity retailing, distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. El ...

(for example:

Manitoba Hydro The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board (), operating as Manitoba Hydro, is the electric power and natural gas public utility, utility in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1961, it is a provincial Crown Corporation, governed by the Manitoba ...

, ENMAX, and

BC Hydro The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, trade name, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, wi ...

). Saskatchewan did the same, and in 1952, the Saskatchewan Power Corporation (now

SaskPower Saskatchewan Power Corporation, trade name, operating as SaskPower, is the principal electric utility in Saskatchewan, Canada. Established in 1929 by the Saskatchewan#Government and politics, provincial government, it serves more than 550,000 cu ...

) began operating a natural gas transmission and distribution system in Saskatchewan. In 1988, the Saskatchewan government split up SaskPower, and created the Saskatchewan Energy Corporation, which took over all of SaskPower’s natural gas assets.

Services

In the SaskEnergy Act, SaskEnergy is granted the exclusive right to ''distribute'' natural gas within the province of Saskatchewan. Its subsidiary, TransGas, on the other hand, is granted the exclusive right to ''transport'' natural gas within Saskatchewan. This means TransGas is responsible to moving natural gas using high-pressure pipelines, and SaskEnergy is responsible for the downstream distribution of natural gas through low-pressure gas lines to consumers. The Provincial Cabinet regulates SaskEnergy’s delivery service and commodity rates. All rate changes are subject to review by the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel, an independent body, prior to receiving Provincial Cabinet approval. In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, SaskEnergy distributed more than 6.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

References

External links

SaskEnergy
Energy companies established in 1952 Crown corporations of Saskatchewan Companies based in Regina, Saskatchewan Natural gas companies of Canada Energy in Saskatchewan 1952 establishments in Saskatchewan {{saskatchewan-stub