‘Tight supply’ prompts Alberta grid alert, rolling blackouts for Calgary

The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) issued a grid alert for the second time this week on Friday morning that caused rolling blackouts in several Calgary communities.

In a post to X, formerly Twitter, the operator said an alert was declared at 6:49 a.m. due to “tight supply,” adding that generation was slowly coming online, and conditions were expected to return to normal by 10 a.m.

The AESO has declared a Grid Alert as of 6:49 a.m. due to tight supply. Generation is slowly coming online, and we expect conditions to return to normal by 10:00 a.m.https://t.co/0q65tZa7si pic.twitter.com/Q9Jb06Qaib

— AESO (@theAESO) April 5, 2024

AESO says generators that we’re out for planned maintenance will be back on, and they’re expecting normal operating conditions Friday evening and through the weekend.

The operator says on its website that grid alerts are issued when the power system is under stress and it is preparing to use emergency reserves to meet demand and system reliability.

During grid alerts, residents are typically asked take steps to conserve electricity, including turning off unnecessary lights and electrical appliances, minimizing the use of air conditioning and space heaters, and delaying the use of major power-consuming appliances like washers, dryers, and dishwashers until after peak hours.

This is the second such instance in as many days, with AESO issuing an alert on Wednesday evening. That one was prompted by “unexpected generation loss.”

In a statement to CityNews Wednesday, an AESO representative said a high amount of renewable energy captured during the day, and forecasts for the coming days showed more of the same. This prompted the shut down of some generating units to cut costs.

ENMAX encouraging Albertans to save electricity

ENMAX posted to it’s social media pages Friday encouraging Albertans to save electricity to avoid rotating power outages.

Later, it said some Calgary communities would be seeing power disruptions due to “a province-wide directive that power consumption must be reduced due to an imbalance in supply and demand.”

Shortly after 9 a.m., ENMAX said customers in more than two-dozen Calgary neighbourhoods would be impacted by disruptions to power.

Affected communities included Martindale, Castleridge, Falconridge, Panorama Hills, Coventry Hills, Golden Triangle, Foothills, Eastfield, Glendeer Business Park, and East Fairview Industrial, as well as Stoney 2, Thorncliffe, Huntington Hills, Greenview, Skyline West, Alyth/Bonnybrook, Highfield, Rural West, Rural Northwest, Greenwood/Greenbriar, Canada Olympic Park, Bowness, Somerset, Shawnessy, Mckenzie Lake, Mckenzie Towne, East Shepard Industrial.

Springbank Hill, Signal Hill, West Springs, Aspen Woods, Strathcona Park, Skyline East, McCall, and Deerfoot Mall were also impacted.

Areas of Edmonton also experienced outages.

For the latest on outages, visit the ENMAX website.