UPDATE: Records have been beaten by another 15 megawatts this afternoon. SaskPower say we could see even higher in the next few hours.
With temperatures soaring above the 35 degree Celsius mark, Saskatchewan set a new summer power demand record of 3,520 megawatts.
The increase of 50 megawatts over the old summer record is equivalent to the amount of electricity needed for 50,000 homes.
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“We’ve seen both summer and winter records set every year for a good while now. And if last summer is any indication, we could very well see another record before temperatures cool off heading into the fall,” said SaskPower vice-president of transmission and industrial services Kory Hayko.
“It’s not impossible we’ll break this record again in the coming days. It’s SaskPower’s responsibility to ensure that Saskatchewan people and businesses have the power they need to thrive. That’s what drives our investment of $1 billion every year to modernize and grow the province’s electrical system.”
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The new record beats the previous summer peak of 3,470 MW, set last August after also being broken twice in July.
The winter demand record is still higher at 3,792 MW, which was set on Dec 29, 2017.