Saskatchewan set a new power demand record during the extreme cold snap over the holidays. At 5:42 p.m. on December 29, 2017, the total system load reached 3,792 megawatts (MW). The increase of 45 MW over the previous demand record is equivalent to the electricity required to power 45,000 homes.

"We continue to see these records set every single year, sometimes multiple times in the same month, and there's a good chance it will happen again before winter ends," said SaskPower Vice-President of Transmission and Industrial Services Kory Hayko. "This is why we continue to invest roughly $1 billion every year to update and grow Saskatchewan's electrical system. We need to make sure our growing province has the power it needs to thrive."

The previous record of 3,747 MW was set on January 12, 2017, and came after new records were hit twice already that month. Saskatchewan broke the summer record twice in July of 2017, and then again in August with a peak load of 3,470 MW.

To meet growing power demand, SaskPower is expanding its generation capacity from approximately 4,500 MW now to 7,000 MW by 2030. We also plan to increase renewable electricity generation from 25 per cent today to as much as 50 per cent over that same time period. There are a number of ways to conserve power this time of year, including turning down the thermostat when no one is home, plugging in your car with a timer, and turning off your interior lights whenever possible.

For more information on power generation and conservation, including our power use self-assessment tool, head to saskpower.com.

At a glance...

• Saskatchewan's new power use record of 3,792 MW was set on December 29 at 5:42 p.m.
• The increase of 45 MW over the previous record represents the electricity needed to power 45,000 Saskatchewan homes.
• SaskPower is increasing generation capacity from 4,500 MW now to 7,000 MW by 2030.
• Visit saskpower.com for tips on power conservation.