A couple heads out to clear an area of snow on the ice of Ghost Lake Reservoir beside at Transalta hydro-electric dam near Cochrane, Alta., Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020. Alberta's frigid temperatures this week have prompted the province's electrical system operator to declare a grid alert. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY – Alberta’s frigid temperatures this week have prompted the province’s electrical system operator to declare a grid alert.
The daytime high today was forecast to be -32 C in Grande Prairie, -27 C in Edmonton. and -25 C in Calgary with overnight wind chills of -40 C.
The Alberta Electric System Operator recorded a new all-time peak demand Monday, but continued extreme cold, high electricity demand and an unplanned power plant outage has resulted in the alert.
AESO is preparing to use emergency reserves to meet the demand and is asking consumers to reduce their electricity use or face the possibility of rolling brownouts.
Spokesman Leif Sollid doesn’t think that will happen and the one plant that was shut down is expected to be back up and running later today.
The previous record for electricity use occurred in January.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published December 21, 2022.
