It’s a record that may be short-lived.  With fans and air conditioners going across the province, SaskPower says it recorded a new summer power demand record of 3543 megawatts Wednesday afternoon with that total expected to rise Wednesday night.

“Despite SaskPower recording a new peak power demand due to this recent heat wave, SaskPower is poised to continue to provide stable and reliable power to Saskatchewan,” said Kory Hayko, Vice President of Transmission and Industrial Services at SaskPower in a release. “

In order to reduce consumption and power bills during extreme temperatures, SaskPower suggests that customers:

• Ensure their air conditioner and furnace is operating efficiently by having routine inspections
• Invest in a programmable thermostat to ensure their home is being heated or cooled only when needed
(for every degree that air conditioning is lowered for an eight-hour period, customers could save up to
two per cent on their power costs)
• Close blinds and window coverings during the daytime to keep the heat out
• Delay activities that produce heat and moisture, such as dishwashing, until later in the day or into the
evening when temperatures are cooler

The previous summer record of 3524 MW was set on August 10, 2018. The all-time record for peak load demand
was 3792 MW and was set on December 29, 2017.