YORKTON – SaskEnergy annouced the launch of a $50M expansion project to meet increased natural gas demand in the province during a press conference at SaskEnergy in Yorkton Sept. 11.
Construction is now underway on the Regina East Expansion Project, which will increase natural gas capacity for residential, commercial and industrial growth in the Yorkton and Regina areas, according to a press release.
"This is for building capacity for future development," said SaskEnergy President and CEO, Mark Guillet, during a media scrum at the event.
"With all of the expansion that's taken place in the Yorkton area ... we want to make sure we have the capacity available so that when there's investment coming into the province and in the Yorkton area that the gas is available for those expansions that take place," added Guillet.
Guillet said the project has been in the works for several years.
"It's been in our planning area. We watch where the flows and the capacities are and because of all the expansions that have been happening in the Yorkton area this has been on our radar for five years or so," said Guillet.
Guillet noted the current capacity is "still good" but said "we need to make sure that we've got planning for any future growth in this area and also east of Regina."
The project includes 11 kilometres of new gas lines and a new compressor site southeast of Regina that will add 14,000 GJ/day of capacity to the Yorkton area, while reinforcing the system reliability in the Regina area. The project is expected to be completed by late 2025, according to the release.
In attendance on behalf of Dustin Duncan, Minister Responsible for SaskEnergy, was Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit.
"This investment demonstrates SaskEnergy's commitment to supporting Sask communities and industries that drive our provincial economy," said Ottenbreit in his address to those in attendance for the announcement.
"If you look at what SaskEnergy has helped contribute to in the many years that they've been supplying gas to the Yorkton area we wouldn't have LDC (Louis Dreyfus Company), Richardson, Grainmillers to the extent it is and now LDC's new pea plant," said Ottenbreit during the scrum.
Yorkton Mayor Mitch Hippsley was also in attendance for the event.
"Timing is everything — you can be too early to the table or too late — and SaskEnergy obviously knows where to be and what to do in time," said Hippsley, adding, "we're extremely grateful because that won't prevent us from doing what we need to do. We have everything else — without SaskEnergy we can't carry forward."
