When I was a kid growing up on a farm, we had a backup generator that we’d start up during power failures. But then each time we’d turn something back on, we could hear the generator strain under the load – and if we turned too many things on too quickly, we’d stall the generator and be back in the dark. If you’ve used a home generator during a power failure, perhaps you’ve experienced the same thing.
Well, now consider the situation most Canadian utilities find themselves in, notably in winter. Each morning at roughly the same time everyone gets up – we turn up the heat – shower – make coffee – make toast – run our hair dryers – and more.
Each afternoon at roughly the same time, we get home – turn up the heat – turn on the stove or microwave to make supper – do laundry – turn on the dishwasher – and more.
Those two daily demand peaks – between 6 and 9 AM (usually the biggest) and 4 to 8 PM – are worst on cold winter days. They put a huge strain on our grid and our power plants, and represent a big challenge for utilities:
- They need to start up every power plant they have, including the biggest polluters and those that are most expensive to run.
- They need to import power from neighbouring provinces or states – expensive, and not always available, as they often experience the same peaks we do
- They need to construct new power plants to meet those peaks – plants that come with a multi-billion-dollar price tag
- In worst case scenarios, they need to plan rolling blackouts to prevent the entire grid from failing. PEI’s utility warned of that possibility in December, and Nova Scotia and Newfoundland came perilously close last month.
Each of those options is expensive, and what’s expensive for our utilities ultimately becomes expensive for us through higher power rates.
So it’s in everyone’s interest to shift as many loads as possible out of peak periods. Here are a few opportunities:
- Shower before bed instead of in the morning. Bonus: use a low flow showerhead; take shorter and fewer showers
- Lower your heat a few degrees; you could even consider ‘preheating’ before the peaks so comfort is maintained.
- Use hair dryers, coffee makers, kettles and toasters sparingly
- Wait until after the peak to run your dishwasher
- Wait until after the peak to do the laundry. Bonus: for big savings, use a clothesline!
- If you’re an EV driver, charge your EV outside peak times
Bonus: wood heat is a great way to stay warm without putting any strain on your power grid. True, it isn’t for everyone, but it’s a great option (using homegrown fuel even), provided three key rules are followed: dry wood, a hot fire and an EPA rated efficient, low-emission stove.
If we all worked to shift loads out of peak times, there probably wouldn’t be peaks, or the costs and challenges that come with them. So please do your part by shifting whatever loads you can!
Here’s more information about power peaks; and for data lovers, here’s an excellent site showing the load on NB’s power grid in real-time.