Managing Peak Winter Electricity Demand

During periods of peak electricity demand in the winter, Yukoners can use about 80% of all the electricity available on the main grid. During extreme temperatures, this can jump to 90%. At times when we are nearing the limits of our electricity system, we take the following steps:

1. We ask the mines to disconnect from the grid and use their back-up generators
2. We ask ATCO Electric Yukon to turn on their community diesel generators
3. We ask mine remediation sites to disconnect from the grid and use their back-up generators
4. We ask large customers like the Canada Games Centre and Whistle Bend Place to disconnect from the grid and use their back-up generators
5. We ask the public to immediately reduce all non-essential electricity use. This would be done through Yukon government's AlertReady system (which sends emergency alerts to wireless devices like cellphones), social media and local media.
6. We would begin rolling blackouts. This is the last resort and would only be necessary if there was not enough electricity to meet demand. Information would be provided through the same channels as step 6, and a schedule for the rolling blackouts would be available on yukon.ca/emergencies.