Albertans Asked to Conserve Power to Minimize Potential for Rotating Outages
CALGARY, ALBERTA, January 13, 2024—The AESO declared a Grid Alert today at 3:30 p.m. in response to ongoing extreme cold temperatures across western Canada, restricted imports and very high demand.
Albertans are asked to immediately reduce their electricity use to essential needs only. Reducing peak electricity demand through province-wide conservation will minimize the high potential for rotating outages this evening.
Currently, the AESO projects the Alberta grid will face a 100 to 200 MW shortfall of electricity during peak evening hours. Immediate power conservation could make a significant difference in reducing overall system demand, currently at approximately 12,000 MW. To put these numbers into perspective, tonight the City of Calgary will be drawing approximately 1,650 MW of electricity, and, if rotating outages are implemented, will need to reduce power by approximately 50 MW.
Rotating outages mean that some power will be temporarily out in different parts of the province until sufficient generation returns to the grid or power demand declines enough that the AESO can rebalance supply and demand.
In the event of a rotating outage, the AESO directs Distribution Facility Owners (DFOs), such as municipalities, to reduce power on a pro-rata basis across the province. Outages will occur simultaneously across Alberta. Critical facilities such as hospitals, fire, police and first responders are not included in rotating outages. Each DFO manages rotating outages at their level. Each rotating outage is expected to last approximately 30 minutes at a time and could be implemented shortly.
More information on Grid Alerts and electricity conservation can be found at aeso.ca.
For more information, contact:
Email: media@aeso.ca
X (Twitter): @theaeso
The Alberta Electric System Operator is responsible for the safe, reliable, and economic planning and operation of the Alberta Interconnected Electric System. We provide open and non-discriminatory access to Alberta’s interconnected power grid and we also facilitate Alberta’s competitive wholesale electricity market.
