Scott McGregor with SaskPower says the peak usage for power starts usually around 4:30/5:00 o’clock in the evening and goes through to around seven o’clock at night as everyone gets off work.  And it was during the peak usage period Saturday evening that Alberta Emergency Management Agency issued a notice Saturday indicating extreme cold resulted in high power demand and had placed the Alberta power grid at risk of rotating power outages.

Saskatchewan sent 153 megawatts of power to Alberta to help deal with the issue. McGregor says there are ways everyone can reduce the impact on the power grid during times of extreme cold or heat like only having the heat turned up when you actually need it.  So, if you’re not home or are sleeping, turn the heat down in the house.

He also suggests making sure your furnace is running optimally by having it cleaned and inspected regularly. As well, your vehicle only needs to be plugged in for four hours to be able to run in cold weather so putting a timer on it will save energy. McGregor says Saturday Saskatchewan saw a peak of 3800 megawatts which is about a 100 megawatts below the all time record.