From left to right: City of Whitehorse Emergency Management Specialist Ursula Geisler, Government of Yukon Emergency Measures Organization Manager of Response Operations Shane Skarnulis, ATCO Electric Yukon Manager Tony Badry and Yukon Energy Director of Maintenance Katherine Babcock. Photo Courtesy of Macklen Linke/CKRW.
Whitehorse, YT – Yukon officials say electricity demand in the territory is rising while last month’s extreme cold pushed the system close to capacity.
Temperatures plunged between -30 and -50 C, with the grid operating at about 91 per cent of total capacity at one point.
Yukon Energy’s Director of Maintenance, Katherine Babcock briefed reporters yesterday on the territory’s emergency power procedures, explaining that avoiding rolling blackouts relies on residents reducing their electricity usage during cold snaps.
“If the public can reduce load similar to what they use at night, which would be if they can reduce by 20 megawatts, then I’d say we’re still a decent way away from the rotating outages,” said Babcock. “But if we call on their support and they only reduce by five or 10 megawatts, then we’re just that much closer.”
Officials say power use in Yukon has grown by three megawatts over the past year, and additional reliable generation is needed to meet growing demand and reduce the risk of rolling blackouts.
Yukon Energy is advancing the Whitehorse Power Centres project, which includes two thermal power centres and a new substation on Long Lake Road, with the first centre expected to be operational by 2027.
