As the mercury rises above 30 degrees Celsius across the province, SaskPower’s peak load demand hit 3547 megawatts (MW) at 5:09 p.m. on June 30, 2021, setting a new summer record, after hitting a peak of 3543 MW earlier in the afternoon.
The difference of 23 MW from the previous record is the equivalent to the amount of electricity needed for approximately 20,000 Saskatchewan homes.
“Despite SaskPower recording a new peak power demand due to this recent heat wave, SaskPower is poised to continue to provide stable and reliable power to Saskatchewan,” said Kory Hayko, Vice President of Transmission and Industrial Services at SaskPower. “We are committed to ensuring Saskatchewan has enough electricity to thrive, which is why SaskPower will be is investing $988 million this year to further ensure safe, reliable power for Saskatchewan.”
SaskPower has several processes and contingencies in place to ensure that there is not an electricity shortfall across the province. Some of these processes include purchasing additional power from neighbouring jurisdictions and working with the largest single-load customers on the grid to curtail their consumption during peak hours.
Heating and cooling homes represents approximately a quarter of residential power bills. In order to reduce consumption and power bills during extreme temperatures, SaskPower suggests that customers:
• Ensure their air conditioner and furnace is operating efficiently by having routine inspections
• Invest in a programmable thermostat to ensure their home is being heated or cooled only when needed (for every degree that air conditioning is lowered for an eight-hour period, customers could save up to two per cent on their power costs)
• Close blinds and window coverings during the daytime to keep the heat out
• Delay activities that produce heat and moisture, such as dishwashing, until later in the day or into the evening when temperatures are cooler
The previous summer record of 3524 MW was set on August 10, 2018. The all-time record for peak load demand was 3792 MW and was set on December 29, 2017.
