The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) has declared a second grid alert about one day after the last one, indicating Albertans could experience power outages. “Please reduce electricity consumption to essential use only; through until 8 p.m. to avoid the possibility of rotating outages,” tweeted AESO on Sunday. .AESO acknowledged it issues grid alerts when the electricity grid is under stress and is preparing to use emergency reserves to meet demand and maintain system reliability. During grid alerts, it asked people to reduce their electricity use to mitigate the possibility of undertaking more serious measures to balance the system, including rotating outages. Grid alerts can be triggered by different factors affecting power generation and electricity demand such as extreme cold or hot weather, time of day and wind conditions, unplanned generation facility outages, and other factors beyond transmission and generation facility owners’ control. AESO takes a variety of actions to maintain reliability such as using emergency reserves, reducing or suspending exports or energy sales, cancelling transmission maintenance, implementing voluntary curtailment programs, and requesting emergency imports. As the last option to maintain reliability, it can initiate temporary rotating outages. Some tips it offered to reduce electricity use were turning off unnecessary lights and electrical appliances, minimizing the use of air conditioning and space heating, and delaying the use of major appliances until after peak hours. AESO declared a grid alert on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. to deal with ongoing extreme cold temperatures across Western Canada, restricted imports, and high demand. READ MORE: Alberta electricity operator asks Albertans to save energy to prevent outagesIt asked Albertans to reduce their electricity use to essential needs only. It said reducing peak electricity demand through conservation would minimize the high potential for rotating outages that evening. At the time, it projected the Alberta electricity grid would face a 100 to 200 MW shortfall of electricity during peak evening hours. Immediate power conservation could make a significant difference in reducing overall system demand, sitting at 12,000 MW.
