Extreme cold weather has rolled into Western Canada, increasing the risk of rolling blackouts in Alberta. Record-breaking temperatures have dipped below -45 C.
This past weekend, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO), which is responsible for operating the province’s power grid, posted an urgent message on the social media platform X, declaring a “grid alert” and asking residents to conserve electricity. This was after power demand hit an all-time high.
Albertans were urged to immediately turn off lights, reduce their space heater usage, and hold off on using dishwashers or charging their electric vehicles.
The operator blamed two offline natural gas plants, and low winds and sunlight, which has resulted in a lack of renewable energy production.
Albertans were quick to come together and respond by greatly reducing their electricity usage.
Here are five tweets that show the reactions of Canadian politicians and experts on the energy crisis and the resilience of Albertans in these extraordinary circumstances.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith praised citizens for pitching in, reposting a graph from Blake Shaffer, an economics professor at the University of Calgary, which demonstrated Albertans’ immediate response. She also called renewables “unreliable”:
Professor Shaffer expanded on his initial findings with three graphs showing how Alberta’s electricity output drastically declined over the weekend from January 13th, 6:45 pm onwards:
In light of the crisis, Premier of Saskatchewan Scott Moe announced his province would be providing electricity to Alberta, assisting its neighbour as it weathers the extreme cold. He also criticized the Trudeau government’s climate change policy.
Federal minister and Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault who hails from an Alberta riding, called the premiers’ statements “a petty, untrue and partisan attack” and blamed the crisis on “decades of under investment in the electricity grid.”
Andrew Leach, a professor of economics at the University of Alberta, highlighted AESO’s precarious state, as extreme weather persists:
Former Conservative leader and MP Andrew Scheer joined the fray, criticizing the CBC for reporting on the benefits of electric vehicles in cold climates, as Westerners desperately conserved electricity:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson, and Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault have yet to comment on Alberta’s energy crisis.
For now, major power outages in Alberta have been avoided.
