Vancouver/Fraser Valley — No big deal….just turn on the A/C and crank it up, as the Valley feels the heat from the longest extended heat wave on record.
Over 10 days over 30C as a high and for Tuesday a possible 11th day. This beats the heat and humidity that we were under during the dog days of summer in 2009.
BC Hydro broke the record for summer power consumption Monday evening when peak hourly demand – the hour that customers use the most electricity – reached more than 7,800 megawatts.
The recent extended heat wave across B.C. has led to increased electricity demand across the province. Monday’s demand record represents a 4 per cent increase over the peak hourly demand last Monday when temperatures were already quite high and 18 per cent over the same day last year.
Demand for power this month has been the highest BC Hydro has ever seen in July. This month had the most days ever – 14 days – with peak hourly demand exceeding 7,000 megawatts. This is a continuation of a trend of higher demand in July as a result of climate change. From 2015 to 2017, there was an average of 8.7 days that exceeded a peak hourly demand of 7,000 megawatts. That is more than five times the average from the previous five years (2010 to 2014).
