SaskEnergy shutting off gas to 247

Safety risks reason for permanent shutdown in Last Mountain Lake

SaskEnergy is planning to permanently shut off natural gas to 247 homes and cottages in six communities surrounding Last Mountain Lake in what a Crown corporation spokesman said is the largest planned service shutdown in its history.

Saskatchewan’s natural gas distributor made the decision for safety reasons in response to rain-induced ground movement that began in 2014, causing underground gas leaks at around 100 times the provincial average, spokesman Dave Burdeniuk said.

“When you see movement in two years that you wouldn’t expect to see in decades, that for us is an indicator of a safety risk … It is twisting our gas lines, pulling our gas lines, and that creates a safety issue for us.”

Rains and flooding were identified as the cause of a gas explosion that levelled a Regina Beach property in December 2014.

Burdeniuk said SaskEnergy has since spent about $9 million evaluating and repairing its infrastructure in the area.

The Last Mountain Lake shutoff will affect about 16 per cent of SaskEnergy’s customers in the Qu’Appelle Valley, and includes 76 properties at Regina Beach, 62 at Buena Vista, 87 at Saskatchewan Beach, 12 at Craven, six at Shore Acres and four at Sun Dale. Gas service to the 247 properties is expected to be shut off by early September.

Affected customers will receive $2,500 to convert their furnaces to run on propane or install electric heating, and buy electric hot water heaters, Burdeniuk said.

Customers who paid to have a gas line installed in the last 10 years — properties in resort communities do not typically come equipped with natural gas service — will also receive some compensation based on a formula, he added.

Asked whether other SaskEnergy customers in the region are expected to lose service in the coming weeks and months, Burdeniuk said the program announced this week should deal with the highest-risk areas and allow a return to normal ground monitoring.

“Once we remove those, we then have to monitor conditions because we’re at the beginning of summer now — we don’t know what kind of rainfall they’re going to get. A severe rainfall event, very intense and sudden rainfall in that area, could necessitate change in other areas.”

SaskEnergy has been named as the defendant in three lawsuits stemming from the Regina Beach explosion, the most recent of which was filed last month and seeks $2.8 million in damages.