Snow covers tree, cars and homes in Parksville on Feb. 12, 2019. (Tina House).
BC Hydro said the province has set a record for the highest peak hourly demand in February when it spiked to more than 10,000 megawatts on Monday evening amidst sub-zero temperatures.
The previous February record for peak hourly demand was 9,795 megawatts on Feb. 8, 2017, has been broken twice during this cold snap. The first time was on Sunday night, when the peak hourly demand hit 9,848 megawatts. That marked a 22 per cent increase over the Sunday two weeks ago.
The new record on Monday evening was 10,050 megawatts. The all-time record is 10,194 megawatts, which was set on Jan. 3, 2017.
BC Hydro said since the cold snap began on Feb. 3, there has been a surge in electricity use, about 13 per cent higher than average. Electricity use is the highest between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on weekday evenings when residents typically come home from work, turn up the heat, switch on the lights, do laundry and make dinner.
According to BC Hydro, heating costs can rise up to 140 per cent in the winter months, which leads to higher electricity bills. BC Hydro recommends adjusting the thermostat to 21 C when relaxing or watching TV, 18 C when cooking or doing housework and 16 C when away from home or sleeping.
CHEK News
