Earlier this month, during one of the coldest weekends ever in Alberta, the province’s energy operator issued four grid alerts urging residents to limit their energy usage or risk rolling blackouts. Not charging electric vehicles was one of the recommendations. It all started on Jan. 11. The average temperature across most of the province was -31 C (though Hendrickson Creek in central Alberta ultimately plummeted to a record shattering -46.1 C by Jan. 12). The Alberta Energy System Operator (AESO) registered a new hourly electricity demand record: 12,384 megawatts, slightly up from the last record of 12,192 megawatts in December 2022. That triggered a series of four alerts over as many days in response to the peak demands. Each time, shortly after they were issued, demand plummeted and the alerts were lifted, only for the cycle to be repeated again several hours later. “The AESO issues a Grid Alert when the power system is under stress and we’re preparing to use emergency reserves to meet demand and maintain system reliability. Consumers are asked to reduce their electricity use during Grid Alerts to help mitigate the possibility of undertaking more serious emergency measures to balance the system, including rotating power outages,” cautioned the AESO in a public news bulletin. Of the 14 energy conserving tips provided by the AESO, one recommendation for how to avoid stressing the grid is to delay the charging of EVs.“This is essentially a fairly significant step backwards,” says Andrew Batiuk, director of the Electric Vehicle Association of Alberta, in an interview with Electric Autonomy.
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