AESO issues brief grid alert during first morning with winter temps this season
Posted Oct 22, 2024 3:28 pm.
The first morning with winter temperatures this season sparked a brief grid alert from the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO).
AESO confirmed to CityNews it issued the alert at 7:15 a.m. that asked industrial power users to cut back.
It was lifted about an hour later at 8:22 a.m.
AESO says the reason behind it were the the cooler temperatures, the fact three thermal generators were offline, and lower wind generation than forecast.
“The AESO issues a Grid Alert when the power system is under stress, and we are using emergency reserves to meet demand and maintain system reliability,” says AESO’s senior communications advisor Diane Kossman in a statement.
“For this morning’s grid alert, we didn’t issue a public call for conservation because it wasn’t required.”
NDP energy critic Nagwan Al-Guneid posted online, asking what the provincial government’s plan is to keep the lights on through winter months.
“It was only -3 C this morning. What is the UCP’s plan to keep the lights on when it is -30 C?” asks Al-Guneid in the post.
Back in January, the province issued a warning about blackouts if people didn’t conserve power on one of the coldest nights of the year.
