Immediately after Saturday night’s emergency alert, the Alberta Electric System Operator said there was a substantial drop in demand for power.
Saturday’s emergency alert, issued around 6:44 p.m., called on Albertans to cut power use due to extreme cold, high power demand and limited electricity imports putting stress on the grid. The province said that extreme weather in BC and Saskatchewan was limiting electricity sharing.
AESO had initially declared a grid alert at 3:44 p.m. Saturday due to these conditions.
At that time, they’d anticipated a 100 to 200 MW shortfall of electricity during the peak hours of 4 to 7 p.m. AESO had warned of rotating outages across the province. In a media release, they suggested that overall system demand was 12,000 MW and should rolling blackouts occur, the City of Calgary, which was drawing 1,650 MW, would have to reduce power by 50 MW.
Once the emergency alert was issued, AESO said Albertans immediately responded. Almost immediately, there was a 100 MW reduction in electricity demand. Within minutes, it climbed to 200 MW, AESO said.
The grid alert ended at 8:40 p.m., according to AESO.
“The province-wide response to the call for energy conservation was tremendous,” said Mike Law, President and CEO of the AESO.
“On behalf of the AESO, I would like to extend my thanks to all Albertans who responded to the call for action, which ensured we didn’t have to progress to rotating outages, keeping our grid up and running for all Albertans.”
While potential power outages were avoided Saturday, AESO did warn again of power use during Sunday’s peak time of 4 to 7 p.m. They’re asking Albertans to once again conserve power.
Here’s more information from AESO on grid alerts and electricity conservation. (Also below).
- Turn off unnecessary lights and electrical appliances;
- Minimize the use of space heaters;
- Delay the use of major power-consuming appliances such as washers, dryers and dishwashers;
- Delay charging electric vehicles and/or plugging in block heaters;
- Cook with your microwave, crockpot or toaster oven instead of an electric stove or oven;
- Limit the use of kitchen or bathroom ventilation fans;
- Work on a laptop instead of a desktop computer (laptops are more energy-efficient than desktop units);
- Unplug electric appliances when not in use, as they continue to drain energy even if they’re off (or use a power bar to cut power to multiple appliances with a single button);
- Close your curtains/shades/blinds to cover drafty windows.
