Intense Ontario heat heaps pressure on electrical grid, approaching 10-year high
Global News
Speaking on Wednesday, as temperatures range between 30 C and 35 C, Energy Minister Stephen Lecce promised Ontario's electrical grid is ready for the strain.
Ontario’s energy minister says sweltering temperatures are pushing electricity usage up to record levels across the province.
Speaking on Wednesday, as temperatures ranged between 30 C and 35 C, Stephen Lecce promised that Ontario’s electrical grid is ready for the strain.
“We are confident in our system,” Lecce, who was appointed energy minister in an early June cabinet reshuffle, said.
“We have taken action to grow and scale up our clean energy generation. But it is a reminder for us all that we have a role to play too in how we can conserve electricity during these high-peak times within our summers.”
Lecce’s office said demand was expected to peak at around 24,000 megawatts on Wednesday, which would be the highest peak since 2013, with the exception of the summer of 2020, when Ontario had to change the energy rules for industry as the pandemic added extra electrical strain.
Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., energy usage was at 22,300 MW in Ontario.
“Today, on the hottest of summer days so far in 2024 and one of the highest days of energy usage in a decade,” Lecce said.
The high energy use comes as Ontario swelters under an extended heat wave, which has prompted warnings from Environment Canada.
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