Although the cold snap that gripped much of the province has now come to an end, BC Hydro says the sustained cold temperatures over the past two weeks led to an increase in electricity demand province-wide.
The demand for power peaked at nearly 10,000 megawatts between 5 and 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 16 — the highest power use recorded so far this year.
Not only was this a record for 2016, it was also the highest levels BC Hydro has recorded since 2013.
Electricity demand across the province increased by 19 per cent. That’s more than 1,600 megawatts higher than the peak recorded on Friday, Dec. 2 before the cold snap began.
Global BC meteorologist Mark Madryga says starting today, milder temperatures are expected to persist throughout the week, with a possibility of another cooling closer to the weekend.
READ MORE: Vancouver could be on course for coldest December on record
On Monday morning, BC Hydro crews were busy restoring power to thousands of customers around Lower Mainland after significant snow accumulations overnight and into early morning. Nearly 30,000 customers were without power at the peak between 7 and 9 a.m. The hardest hit areas are in Burnaby, Vancouver, Surrey, Port Moody and Maple Ridge.
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