Demand for Electricity Drops 3.7% in September

Electricity Demand

December 5, 2015

Canada’s demand for electricity declined 3.7% from September 2014 to 38.5 million megawatt hours (MWh) in September. Lower demand contributed to the 2.3% decrease in total generation, as power plants produced 43.7 million MWh for the month.

Exports of electricity to the United States rose 7.5% to 5.8 million MWh on a year-over-year basis, as a result of greater shipments from both British Columbia and Quebec. However, lower exports from Ontario tempered the growth. Imports from the United States declined 7.4% from the same month a year earlier to 0.7 million MWh in September.

Chart 1: Electricity generation and consumption

Power Stats

Ontario was the main contributor to the national decrease in electricity generation, as output declined 17% from September 2014 to 10.3 million MWh. The main contributors to the decline in Ontario were nuclear and hydro generation. Plant outages helped push nuclear generation down 22.7% to 6.6 million MWh, while hydro output fell 9.8% to 2.7 million MWh.

Conversely, power generation was up in Quebec (+7.0%) and British Columbia (+11.9%). These two provinces, which are primarily powered by hydroelectricity, used the higher supply of electricity to increase exports to the United States as demand in both provinces decreased.

Source: Statistics Canada, www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/151126/dq151126c-eng.htm.

 

Related Articles


Latest Articles

  • Electric Avenue Responds to Enel X’s Exit from North American Market with a Call for Open-Source EV Charging Standards

    Electric Avenue Responds to Enel X’s Exit from North American Market with a Call for Open-Source EV Charging Standards

    October 4, 2024 Electric Avenue has issued a response to the recent announcement that Enel X, a major player in the EV charging space, will be shutting down its North American operations effective October 11, 2024. This decision leaves over 170,000 EV chargers across the U.S. and Canada without software support, rendering them largely inoperable…. Read More…

  • Electrical Safety Authority Recognizes Safety Excellence in Ontario at its 2024 Annual Meeting

    Electrical Safety Authority Recognizes Safety Excellence in Ontario at its 2024 Annual Meeting

    September 30, 2024 PUC Services Inc., Bluewater Power, Hydro One & London Hydro, Elexicon Energy, Mellon Inc., and Ottawa Community Housing were honoured at the 2024 Ontario Electrical Safety Awards for exemplary electrical safety leadership. The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) held its Annual Meeting and Ontario Electrical Safety Awards earlier this month to celebrate leadership… Read More…

  • Incentives for Tubular LEDs Now Available in BC

    Incentives for Tubular LEDs Now Available in BC

    September 30, 2024 Changes in technology and safety prompt update of BC Hydro incentive to include Tubular lamp replacements BC Hydro’s Alliance of Energy Professionals members have been asking for it as far back as 2015, and it’s now arrived. Tubular lamp replacements will now qualify for incentive funding through the business energy saving incentives (BESI) program. “We… Read More…

  • 2024 IDEAL National Championship Wraps up in West Palm Beach, Florida

    2024 IDEAL National Championship Wraps up in West Palm Beach, Florida

    September 30, 2024 IDEAL successfully concluded the 2024 IDEAL National Championship, with the finals taking place in West Palm Beach, Florida this past weekend. Between April and July, IDEAL organized 10 qualifying events across Canada, engaging over 500 enthusiastic student apprentices eager to demonstrate their troubleshooting abilities. Each event’s top finisher advanced to the at-home… Read More…


Changing Scene