After an emergency alert was issued on Saturday night due to extreme cold, Alberta’s electrical grid has stabilized, alleviating the “high risk” of rotating power outages. The alert was prompted by high power demand caused by the frigid temperatures.
Residents in Alberta were asked to reduce their electricity use immediately, focusing only on essential needs. The Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) urged people to turn off unnecessary lights, avoid using stoves for cooking, and delay charging electric vehicles.
The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) managed to end the grid alert before 9 p.m. MT. The AESO had as little as 10 megawatts in reserve power at one point, but that number jumped to 404 megawatts around 7:45 p.m. MT.
Following the emergency alert, total power consumption across the province decreased to 11,187 MW at 7:45 p.m. MT, with a significant drop of 100 MW in electricity demand immediately after the alert was issued.
Alberta’s power grid was strained due to extreme cold, high demand, and low imports. While Alberta imports some electricity from other provinces, extreme weather conditions in neighboring western provinces affected their ability to share electricity.
Despite setting an all-time provincial record for power demand, with an hourly peak of 12,384 megawatts of electricity on Thursday, Alberta faced additional challenges, including natural gas generator outages and low renewable power.
The AESO called on residents to conserve electricity during the peak demand period from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., emphasizing that small changes like avoiding the use of dishwashers and laundry machines during those hours could help.
Despite the challenges posed by the extreme cold, the AESO highlighted its highly trained system controllers’ ability to monitor and manage the grid in real-time, ensuring the stability of Alberta’s power supply.