Power demand soars as mercury plunges
Calgarians are being asked to lay off using big appliances as the city heads toward near-record one-day power consumption amid plummeting temperatures.
Heating offices after a cold weekend, along with powering seasonal lighting displays and vehicle block heaters, had electricity providers predicting heavy demand by the time Monday is over.
The temperature fell to a low of –27 C at 8 a.m. with a wind chill making it feel like –31, and the overnight low was also forecast at –27.
"Last year, we actually set a record and we actually used 1,632 megawatts of power that day. Now today we're anticipating 1,620," said Doris Kaufmann, a spokeswoman with Enmax, Calgary's city-owned utility.
Power consumption in the province was forecast to break 10,000 megawatts on Monday evening during the peak hours of 5 to 7 p.m., surpassing the 9,806-megawatt record last year.
"We do prepare for it and it is something that happens every year, obviously," said Kaufmann. "I mean, it is cold in Canada."
The bone-chilling conditions followed a weekend blizzard that dumped 10 centimetres of snow on Friday alone while high winds severely cut visibility on roads and highways.
Calgary Transit asked people to be patient as buses were still having trouble getting through some areas.
"Particularly it seems in the northeast, those communities seem to be the hardest hit with snow, and in Saddle Ridge, Taradale, Martindale, those are the ones where we've had some difficulty manoeuvring," said Calgary Transit spokesman Ron Collins.
Some people may need to walk down hills to catch the bus, he warned.
Tips to conserve power
- Run appliances such as washers, dryers and dishwashers after 7 p.m. or on weekends during lower demand.
- Use energy-efficient holiday lighting displays and use timers on them.
- Use a microwave rather than conventional oven, which uses more energy.
- Unplug "vampire" electronics like cellphone chargers that continually suck power.
- Turn down the thermostat in electrically heated buildings.
Source: Direct Energy
Many Calgarians spent the weekend digging out vehicles frozen solid or stuck in snowbanks, especially in areas where there was little to block the relentless wind and drifting snow.
City crews are about halfway done clearing snow from the worst-hit residential roads on Monday.
"It was a very, very different storm from what we're used to, in that the winds were so high and we had a lot of drifting. So for that reason, we have a lot of residential areas right now, some of them that only have one or two entrances into the community," said Dean Bell, the city's manager of road maintenance.
Crews should be finished clearing the 40 to 50 residential locations blocked by snow before the Tuesday morning commute, Bell added.
The city clears snow according to a priority system that focuses on major roads and emergency routes first, followed by bus routes, school zones and known trouble spots such as bridge decks and hills.
Residential areas may be cleared based on complaints to the city.
Sean Somers, a spokesman for the city's roads department, said crews began clearing secondary and residential streets on Saturday, acknowledging that the work may create more shovelling for some residents.
"Practically speaking if we come through there with a plow, and your car's there on the side of the road, it's going to get buried and we have to put that snow somewhere," said Somers. "It's just the reality of it."