The Alberta Emergency Alert that was received province wide yesterday was lifted at 8:40 p.m. last night (Jan 13).

It was triggered due to the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) declaring an alert that explained the extreme cold was resulting in a high power demand. 

"An urgent appeal to Albertans to conserve electricity tonight was instrumental in avoiding rotating power outages and lifting a Grid Alert that had been declared at 3:30 p.m. due to extreme cold and high electricity demand," stated in a news release from AESO.

Grid Alerts can be triggered by different factors that affect power generation and electricity demand, such as:

  • Extremely cold or hot weather, which drives increased use of heating or air conditioning systems
  • Time of day and wind conditions, which impact the availability of solar and wind-generated energy
  • Unplanned generation facility outages
  • Other factors beyond transmission and generation facility owners’ control, such as lightning, downed power lines, etc.

"The province-wide response to the call for energy conservation was tremendous. On behalf of the AESO, I would like to extend my thanks to all Albertans who responded to the call for action, which ensured we didn’t have to progress to rotating outages, keeping our grid up and running for all Albertans," said Mike Law, President and CEO of the AESO. 

There is still forcasted to be extremely cold temperatures for today (Jan 14) being at -37, AESO requests that Albertan's try and conserve energy during the peak demand hours between 4 p.m to 7 p.m.

Tips to conserve electricity include:

  • Turn off unnecessary lights and electrical appliances;
  • Minimize the use of space heaters;
  • Delay the use of major power-consuming appliances such as washers, dryers and dishwashers;
  • Delay charging electric vehicles and/or plugging in block heaters;
  • Cook with your microwave, crockpot or toaster oven instead of an electric stove or oven;
  • Limit the use of kitchen or bathroom ventilation fans;
  • Work on a laptop instead of a desktop computer (laptops are more energy-efficient than desktop units);
  • Unplug electric appliances when not in use, as they continue to drain energy even if they’re off (or use a power bar to cut power to multiple appliances with a single button);
  • Close your curtains/shades/blinds to cover drafty windows.

More information on Grid Alerts and tips for electricity conservation can be found at aeso.ca. 

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