Hydro-Québec (HQ) announced January 16 that electricity demand that day reached a historical peak of 37,220 megawatts.
At the time the record was reached, the outdoor temperature was -26ºC. With its huge supply of low-cost hydroelectric power, the province relies heavily on electrical resistance heating.
The provincial utility projected that requirements on the evening of January 16 would reach 35,700 MW and subsequently reiterated its call to the population to reduce energy consumption between 5 pm and 8 pm.
In a separate press release issued by an industrial consumer group, the Association québécoise des consommateurs industriels d’electricité (‘”AQCIE”), the organization reiterated the intention of industrial customers to co-operate with HQ’s request to reduce energy consumption. AQCIE also noted that HQ’s interruptible power program, for which new parameters were recently approved by the Régie de l’énergie, includes approximately 700 MW of interruptible power. In compliance with that program, participating industrial customers agree to interrupt their energy use during peak periods in exchange for a preferential rate, which is approximately 15% below market prices.