Alberta’s electric system operator was asking Albertans Friday to reduce their power use, due to a number of factors.
The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) made the public appeal Friday, and asked Albertans to voluntarily reduce their electricity use during peak hours on that day.
AESO said the province was facing a number of generator outages, in addition to low wind power generation.
“We just lost a couple of power plants late yesterday, so the supply situation got a little bit tight over the past day,” John Esaiw with AESO said in a phone interview. “That’s why we’re just asking for a reduction in consumption if possible.”
Officials said AESO had been importing power from British Columbia and Saskatchewan to help meet demand.
Albertans were asked Friday to turn off unnecessary lights and appliances, minimize their use of air conditioning and avoid using appliances that use a lot of power, such as dishwashers and washers.
According to AESO, the peak electricity use hours fall between noon and 7 p.m. – and the appeal only applied to Friday.
