Sask. breaks summer power use record for third time in two months

For a third time in two months, Saskatchewan has set a new summer record for power use as temperatures soared above the 30 C mark Monday.

SaskPower says Monday’s peak of 3,470 megawatts beats the previous records of 3,419 MW set July 27 and 3,360 MW set July 10.

Last summer’s peak of 3,331 MW set in July 2015 had been unsurpassed until last month. The increase of 139 MW over last summer’s peak represents the power use of nearly 140,000 homes.

“Saskatchewan is still growing and we’re seeing it in these new summer peaks,” Kory Hayko, SaskPower’s vice-president of transmission and industrial services, said in a news release Tuesday.

“More people and businesses are requesting new service and each household is using more power every year as they adopt new technology. We’re also seeing the summer peak climb higher towards our winter peak, and that’s why SaskPower needs to update the grid and keep growing along with the province.”

According to Environment Canada, temperatures reached highs of 35.5 C in Regina and 30.5 C in Saskatoon on Monday.