175 megawatts of electricity is being exported by SaskPower to help out areas of the United States without power as they deal with abnormal cold weather conditions.
Joel Cherry, spokesperson for SaskPower, said on Tuesday that they received notice from the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), which coordinates electricity transmission across a number of states, requesting more electricity during this recent cold spell.
“There is extreme cold weather conditions in the southern United States right now leading to extreme demand on their systems. In some cases, they are having blackouts,” explained Cherry. “They put out the call to import more electricity, and SaskPower has thankfully been able to oblige.”
The exported power is being fed through an intertie into the SPP which has faced a strain on electrical systems, leaving millions without power in the U.S. 150 megawatts started moving out of the province on Sunday morning, but growing demand has resulted in a temporary increase to 175 megawatts.
“The power we are sending is through literal transmission power lines into the United States,” added Cherry. “There’s a whole market for energy where this sort of thing is negotiated and the discussions are made about when the purchases occur and when the power is shipped.”
The SPP is in charge of coordinating electricity transmission across 14 states.
