Power, energy records broken during extreme cold

As Saskatchewan heated their homes amidst dangerously low temperatures, new power and energy records were set.

On Dec. 29, 2017, SaskPower said the total system load reached 3,792 megawatts. The increase of 45 megawatts over the previous record, 3747 megawatts, is equivalent to the electricity needed to power 45,000 homes.

The previous record was set on Jan. 12, 2017.

On the same day as breaking the power record, SaskEnergy also set a new record for natural gas use. In 24 hours, the Crown corporation used 1.5 PetaJoules, surpassing the previous record of 1.33 PetaJoules from 2016/2017.

A PetaJoule is equivalent to 1 million GigaJoules of natural gas. On average, a home will use 102 GigaJoules of natural gas annually.