Natural Resources committee  That's a very good question. I had indicated a few minutes ago that we are currently working with the University of Saskatchewan's department of environment and sustainability, which is looking at exactly that issue—how to develop a policy around integrating renewables into northern communities.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you very much.

Natural Resources committee  The decision to move down a nuclear path would have to be something that the provincial government would speak to and direct. As a utility, we want to remain agnostic to the technology. We want to understand what technologies are available to be integrated into our grid, but until that bigger political decision is made to move forward, we're just keeping abreast of the technology.

Natural Resources committee  No, we don't. We have had small contracts with North Dakota over the years, but our connection into the U.S. is very small. It's 150 megawatts into the United States, so it's not big enough.

Natural Resources committee  It's very premature for me to say. It would depend on the economics, and that's a really big question. I couldn't answer that today.

Natural Resources committee  I agree. As I said earlier, I think the technology is coming of age to allow wind and solar, together with battery storage, to adequately serve some of these remote communities. It's just a matter of getting the right technologies together and the right control system to allow that grid to be stable in that local microgrid area.

Natural Resources committee  Absolutely. The technology is starting to emerge that would allow it to be a real possibility, but it will require storage and additional control systems that will allow the storage and, for example, the ability for batteries to manage that intermittency. You may need substantial battery capacity in the north, but with a very small amount of generation capacity.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, we're certainly looking at it. There's a substantial difference just in technology between the boilers used in Alberta and the boilers we use in Saskatchewan. The boilers in Alberta burn sub-bituminous coal. We burn lignite coal. There are also different design characteristics, which don't lend themselves as efficiently to gas conversion as do the boilers in Alberta.

Natural Resources committee  First of all, to touch on a comment you made on hydro, we are not adding any hydro generation at the present time. We did have a potential project in northern Saskatchewan, a river diversion project, which was very clean, renewable, and environmentally responsible. It was a 50-megawatt project.

Natural Resources committee  Absolutely. As you're making that economic decision and putting that business case together, you have to look at all the options and alternatives. The risk of natural gas prices climbing in the long term is certainly a big factor that you have to look at. The long-term risks of the nuclear fuel cycle have to be looked at.

Natural Resources committee  We don't operate the natural gas system here in the province. We just purchase the gas and use it in our generating stations. SaskEnergy looks after gas distribution here.

Natural Resources committee  The work that's being done with NRCan is certainly helpful. It's a chance for common interests to be put on the table and for technical solutions to be developed that would help promote east-west co-operation in an east-west grid. As for where there's an opportunity to be more actively engaged with the provinces, I'm not sure that I can name it today.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, I see opportunities. I've had many discussions with the Northwest Territories power company and with Manitoba Hydro. We have common interests when it comes to finding technical ways to serve communities that are on diesel. The problem is just the vast geography that we deal with in western Canada, and the hundreds of kilometres of distance between communities and between potential supply sources.

Natural Resources committee  I'll make just a brief comment. Yes, we spend about $1 billion a year. About $400 million of that is for sustainment infrastructure on existing assets in the ground. Given the growth we've had in the province over the last decade, about $500 million of that is to deal with growth: connecting new customers, adding new line capacity, and adding new generation capacity.

Natural Resources committee  It's going to take a lot. I think that when you look at where we are placed geographically in Canada, at where Alberta is placed, and at the abundance of fossil fuels that we have had the benefit of being able to use for the past many decades now, you can see that as the world shifts to a cleaner future, both Alberta and Saskatchewan have to move relatively quickly to move off fossil fuels, or to reduce emissions in some way, shape, or form.