Electricity consumption in Canada is declining and it’s largely thanks to West Coasters.
According to Statistics Canada, Canada’s demand for electricity in March totalled 50.1 million megawatt hours (MWh), down 5.1 per cent from last year’s levels.
Lower demand in British Columbia, as well as in Quebec and Alberta, largely contributed to this decline.
In fact, both British Columbia and Alberta recorded double-digit declines in electricity demand. In British Columbia, above average temperatures contributed to a 13.4 per cent decline in demand to 5.0 million MWh, which also helped to push imports from the U.S. down 38.6 per cent.
The electricity demand in Alberta fell a total of 15.3 per cent to 5.1 million MWh this year.
Despite a West Coast decline in electricity use, Ontario’s power demands are mitigating the national average.
Electricity consumption rose by 6.8 per cent to 11.3 million MWh in Ontario. To meet the increased demand, generation levels in the province grew 7.5 per cent on a year-over-year basis to 13.2 million MWh. This increase in generation levels was the sixth one in seven months.