During the extreme cold spell that hit the West Kootenays on Jan. 13, Nelson Hydro eclipsed their peak power usage by three megawatts.
But despite the record power usage, Nelson Hydro General Manager Scott Spencer said the city was never in danger of losing the grid because they are always able to purchase power from outside sources like Fortis BC.
Spencer also spoke about residents using electric heat pumps to heat their homes as a cleaner source of energy.
“The utilities in BC will make sure that everybody has the power that they require but the cost is going to increase as we bring on that new capacity,” he said.
To avoid reaching peak power usage again, Nelson Hydro is exploring the possibility of using large batteries to store power during low usage times and then distributing that power when needed.
