Cold snap creates record demand for power

Jan 14, 2024 | 4:00 PM

B.C. residents have been cranking up the heat during the first cold snap of the winter.

BC Hydro said the peak hourly electricity demand – the hour customers use the most electricity – set a new record Friday night (Jan. 12) when it reached 11,300 megawatts.

The previous record was 10,977 megawatts set in December 2022. Friday night’s consumption was more than 30 per cent higher than the previous Friday night before the cold snap began, and Saturday night’s peak hourly load remained high at nearly 11,000 megawatts.

Daily minimum temperature records were set in 17 B.C. communities Saturday (Jan. 13) including Salmon Arm at -30.4C (old record -27.2 in 1911), Penticton at -27.6 (-24.4 in 1950) and Osoyoos at -22.3 (-19.8 in 2017).

Despite the record-breaking demand, B.C. did not require imports from the market and also had enough generating capacity to provide support to its neighbours in Alberta and the Pacific Northwest who were experiencing demand and system challenges.

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“Extreme weather events like drought and cold snaps are putting people and communities at increased risk,” Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, said. “Thanks to the resiliency of our energy system and exceptional planning by BC Hydro, we are able to meet the needs of British Columbians while also delivering clean, reliable hydro-electricity to our neighbours in Alberta when they needed it most.”

With the cold snap expected to last a couple more days, BC Hydro said demand will remain higher-than-average, but it will not be at record-breaking levels.

Meantime, FortisBC reached out to Vernon Matters to say their gas system delivered double the energy BC Hydro did on Friday, Jan. 12, when the province was at its coldest,.

Fortis said while BC Hydro provided 11,300 megawatts of electricity, FortisBC’s gas system delivered 21,763 megawatts at the highest point of demand.

“This is nearly 400 megawatts (or 1.8 per cent) more than December 22, 2022, the day when we saw similar temperatures and hit our previous record for peak demand on our gas system,” Holly Harrison, corporate communications specialist with FortisBC, told Vernon Matters.

by Pete McIntyre

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