Why some Canadians are staring at freezing winter with no power

Yukon reached an all-time record peak demand of 123 megawatts on Monday, Energy Minister Ted Laking said. Laking said the territory’s power grid can produce 140 megawatts of electricity “in ideal conditions”.

Local power station faces power outage

Yukon, which has a total population of over 34,000 people, saw Haines Junction witness power outage for several hours on Monday due to an exhaust issue at the local generating station. Minister Laking informed that the incident put additional strain on the power grid of the territory.

“On Monday, December 22, we set an all-time record peak demand of 123 megawatts. This exceeded the previous record set just a few weeks ago. In ideal conditions, with everything running at maximum, our system can produce about 140 megawatts,” Laking said.

Temperature was hovering around -42 degrees celsius in downtown Whitehorse on Tuesday. According to Yukon’s manager for response operations with the Emergency Measures Organization, there is “a lot of concern that we may be facing a power outage in the next couple of days,” CBC news reported.

Residents instructed to keep emergency kit ready

Manager Shane Skarnulis said that residents of Yukon must have an emergency kit ready which could last for at least 72 hours and it should include a light source, a communications device, warm clothing, baby food, pet supplies, a first aid kit, hygiene items and medications among other things.

Minister Laking said, “All Yukoners have a role to play in preparing for emergencies, including extended power outages. I encourage all Yukoners to make a plan to keep you and your family safe and prepare a 72-hour kit.”