Meet Mike. 24/7, our Gas Control team supplies customers with the energy they need!

SaskEnergy’s transmission system spans more than 15,000 kilometres of gas lines, connecting to Alberta, Manitoba and the United States. This is how we import gas and transport it across the province to our customers.

As part of this large gas line system, we have more than 1,000 receipt and delivery points, compressor stations and natural gas storage sites. Our Gas Control team oversees them all!

Their work ensures we have enough energy to serve our customers on a day-by-day and even minute-by-minute basis.

Our Gas Controllers monitor, analyze, evaluate, communicate, control and manage the flow and storage for all gas coming into and out of Saskatchewan.

They monitor the system 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round.

After 17 years as a Gas Controller, Mike Skinner says every day is still a challenge.

“It’s ongoing, never stopping, always flowing, changing and moving 24/7. That’s one of the things we like about the job. The challenge is to walk in the door, ‘What have I got today?’” says Mike.

Throughout the day and night, the Gas Controllers 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 to 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.

 “Forecasting is the key — trying to see what’s happening 12 hours down the road,” says Mike.

Gas Control is in regular contact with other teams at SaskEnergy, as well as customers who are using our system to transport gas, and with the companies who sell gas to us.

Their work also varies by season. In summertime, they’re busy filling storage fields and caverns to prepare for cold winter months. On a cold winter day, when gas usage is much higher, home heating needs keep the Gas Control team busy.

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.

Mike enjoys his job and knowing that his team makes a difference in the lives of Saskatchewan people.

 “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 residential and commercial customers,” says Mike.

SaskEnergy is committed to delivering safe, reliable and affordable natural gas to homes, businesses and industry throughout Saskatchewan.