A grid alert has been issued in Alberta. (Photo: 728jet | Dreamstime.com)

By David Opinko/LethbridgeNewsNOW

‘Grid Alert’ declared in Alberta due to extreme cold

Dec 21, 2022 | 11:31 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) is asking consumers to be mindful of how much electricity they are using.

They declared a grid alert for the province at 8:25 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21.

It was enacted due to the extreme cold weather, high electricity demand, and an unplanned outage.

During grid alerts, AESO says it takes a variety of actions to maintain the reliability of the grid system, including using emergency reserves, reducing or suspending exports of energy sales, and requesting emergency imports.

They are also asking residents and businesses to do what they can to reduce how much energy they are using, particularly during the peak hours of 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

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Some tips, as provided by AESO, include:

• Turn off unnecessary lights and electrical appliances.
• Minimize the use of air conditioning/space heaters.
• Delay the use of major power-consuming appliances such as washers, dryers and dishwashers until after peak hours.
• Use cold water for washing clothes—most of the energy used goes to heating the water (only running full loads helps too).
• Delay charging electric vehicles and/or plugging in block heaters.
• Cook with your microwave, crockpot or toaster oven instead of the stove.
• Limit the use of kitchen or bathroom ventilation fans.
• Use motion-detector lights in storage areas, garages, and outdoors when possible.
• Work on a laptop instead of a desktop computer (laptops are more energy-efficient than desktop units).

This is the second grid alert in two days in Alberta.

It comes as the entire province remains under an extreme cold warning from Environment Canada.

The warning for the Lethbridge-Taber-Milk River, Medicine Hat-Bow Island-Suffield areas and the rest of southern Alberta states that wind chill values of -40 Cor below will continue this week with a warming trend expected by the weekend. Some areas can expect wind chill values of -50 C.

Environment Canada says extreme cold puts everyone at risk.

“Risks are greater for young children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses, people working or exercising outdoors, and those without proper shelter. Watch for cold-related symptoms: shortness of breath, chest pain, muscle pain and weakness, numbness and colour change in fingers and toes,” says Environment Canada.

The agency adds that, if it is too cold for you to stay outside, it is too cold for your pets to stay outside.

Public weather alerts for Alberta can be found on the Environment Canada website.

Environment Canada reported that cold temperature records were set in 30 communities across Alberta between Monday night and Tuesday morning.