REGINA — SaskEnergy says extreme cold weather across Saskatchewan this past week resulted in record-breaking natural gas demand in the province. The peak demand was on Jan. 12 with a natural gas consumption rate of 1.70 petajoules per day (PJ/d). This surpasses the previous record of 1.65 PJ/d reported two years ago on Jan. 6, 2022.
This past week’s exceptional demand extends beyond the peak day – with Jan. 13 and 14 also exceeding the previous record with 1.68 PJ/d and 1.66 PJ/d usage respectively. A release issued Friday says this record usage is from demand across SaskEnergy’s customer base, with main contributors being power generation and residential heating.
SaskEnergy measures daily natural gas consumption for the 24-hour period from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. A PJ is a unit of measurement equivalent to one million gigajoules (GJ) of natural gas. An average Saskatchewan home consumes about 100 GJ of natural gas each year.
“At SaskEnergy we anticipate higher usage of natural gas in the colder periods of the year,” says Mark Guillet, President and CEO of SaskEnergy. “With a 99.998 per cent reliability, our system is designed with inventory and capacity to safely provide natural gas to our customers 24 hours a day.”
SaskEnergy is reminding customers that when the weather gets cold, to keep in mind the following top winter safety tips:
Make sure that your exterior vents are free of frost, ice and snow. Blocked vents can cause equipment to malfunction or lead to a buildup of carbon monoxide—an odourless, colourless, tasteless, invisible gas formed by the incomplete combustion of fuels.
Keep your natural gas meter free of snow and ice, including the meter’s regulator and shut-off valve. Keeping snow and ice off and away from your natural gas equipment will help ensure it continues to operate when you need it most.
Have your furnace inspected every year. Regular maintenance can help ensure furnaces are working properly and give you peace of mind, knowing your family will be safe and warm throughout the winter.
