The role of Gas Control in providing reliable energy for customers

SaskEnergy maintains nearly 90,000 kilometres of gas lines, including our transmission lines that connect to Alberta, Manitoba and the United States. This is how we import gas and transport it across the province to our customers.

With a system that is more than 99.99 per cent reliable, our customers can count on us to provide the energy they need to heat their homes and run their businesses. Having the right amount of gas in place where and when customers need it is part of this reliability.

Throughout the day and night, our Gas Control team keeps a close eye on our system and predicts where gas will be required. This allows us to serve our customers on a day-by-day and even minute-by-minute basis.

They move gas where it needs to be — for example, to town border stations that serve our province’s cities and meet the “morning load” of our residential customers. This is what Gas Control calls daily spikes of natural gas usage each morning, due hot showers and turned-up thermostats when people wake up for the day.

Our Gas Controllers monitor trends each day to prepare for the next. This team is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round.

“Forecasting is the key — trying to see what’s happening 12 hours down the road,” says Mike Skinner, who has worked as a Gas Controller for the past 17 years.

Our Gas Control team is part of SaskEnergy’s careful planning to ensure our customers have the energy they need when they need it. 

In summertime, Gas Controllers are busy transporting gas to fill our storage fields and caverns. This stored gas helps SaskEnergy during cold winter months, when residential customers rely on us for home heating.

With SaskEnergy’s complex transmission system, there’s more than one way to route gas from Point A to Point B. The Gas Control team’s knowledge of our system helps to make sure customers continue to have natural gas service throughout construction and maintenance projects.

“As a group we all do our part together, and I think we’re all proud of that. We work as a team to get the job done and move the gas around as required for our residential and commercial customers,” says Mike.