TORONTO – When it comes to the hot temperatures, not only are people feeling the heat, but the system that provides the electricity also feels the strain as well.
“If we have two to three days of heat like this when it doesn’t cool down at night our equipment doesn’t have a chance to cool down,” said Toronto Hydro spokesperson Tanya Bruckmueller-Wilson. “We then run the risk of localized outages.”
On Thursday night, close to 6,500 Toronto Hydro customers were left without electricity in downtown Toronto due to a fire at a substation at George and Adelaide Street.
“The demand on that piece of the equipment and the age combined, the outcome is predictable,” said Bruckmueller-Wilson.
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Although electricity was returned to customers several hours later, it also proves how much of an impact extreme heat has on the power grid.
Experts say the age of Toronto’s grid is the biggest threat to the electricity supply, with some equipment dating back to the 1920’s.
“We have 30 per cent of our assets that have passed its life expectancy,” Bruckmueller-Wilson explains. “We have an application in front of the board and applied for $1.4 billion over the next 3 years to upgrade the system.”
While there are concerns about the power supply, the good news is demand isn’t what it used to be.
Even on the hottest days of summer we’re far from breaking any records for power consumption.
According to the Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), in 2006, demand peaked near 27,000 megawatts, yet today it peaks at just 24,000 megawatts – the left over electricity is enough to power two cities the size of Mississauga.
“We’ve seen a real change the way electricity is being used,” said IESO spokesperson Alexandra Campbell. “Some effects of the economy, that’s lowered demand in some business and industries, as well conservation has had a huge impact to lower energy use.”
However, consumers will still have to end up paying more for electricity down the line since Toronto Hydro has applied to raise rates in the coming years to pay for grid upgrades.
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