AESO asks Albertans to power down once again

Alberta’s Electric System Operator is calling on citizens to reduce electricity use especially during peak hours to help alleviate the load on the system.

AESO says the combination of high demand, warm weather and limited wind output is putting a strain on the system.

A planned outage on the British Columbia intertie is also part of the problem and is hindering Alberta’s ability to import power through its largest interconnection. An unplanned outage in Saskatchewan is also limiting its ability to import electricity from the East.

"Our province is currently in a supply shortfall situation," says Mike Law, Vice President of Operations. "We are utilizing reserves to meet demand requirements while we continue to provide a reliable electricity system to Albertans."

AESO is asking all Albertans to conserve the amount of energy they are using particularly during the peak hours between 5 and 7 p.m.

You can help conserve energy by:

This is the second time in the last few weeks that AESO officials have put out the appeal to Albertans to power down.