Alberta Cold
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Some Prairie politicians are taking Ottawa to task over its green-energy plans amid bone-chilling low temperatures, claiming on social media that electricity grid alerts in Alberta show renewables can't be depended on when temperatures plunge.
“Right now, wind is generating almost no power. When renewables are unreliable, as they are now, natural gas plants must increase capacity to keep Albertans safe,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith posted on social media Friday, shortly after the province's grid operator issued an appeal for consumers to conserve electricity to protect the system.
A day later, following a second grid alert that warned of potential rotating blackouts, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe posted that surplus power it was sending Alberta's way was coming from natural gas and coal-fired power plants.
“The ones the Trudeau government is telling us to shut down (which we won't),” Moe said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The Alberta Electric Systems Operator said no blackouts were required following an emergency alert that was sent to people's phones shortly before 7 p.m., noting Albertans responded right away.
At the time, temperatures in much of the province were approaching -40 C.
Randy Boissonnault, the only federal cabinet minister from Alberta and one of only two Liberal MPs from the province, called the statements from the premiers “a petty, untrue and partisan attack.” He blamed part of the issue on “decades of under investment in the electricity grid.”“Rather than tweeting nonsense about Canada's plans to tackle climate change, perhaps the premiers can focus on the current emergency, and afterwards work with the federal government to deal with climate change,” the Edmonton MP wrote in an email.
Alberta's grid operator has partially pinned the crisis on two natural gas generators that weren't operating, as well as a lack of renewable energy being produced due to low winds and a shortage of daylight at this time of year.
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A few years back, I was in a Quebec hunting camp and we were talking about the coldest hunt we'd ever made. One guy from New Jersey said he had made some cold hunts, but nothing compared to a late season deer hunt in Alberta that he'd made a few years ago.
He said he had on Mickey Mouse boots, ECWS underwear, another layer, wool sweater, insulated coveralls with a hood and a wool watch cap. He had a heat pack over each kidney and one stuffed between his legs.
The maximum time on stand was 30 minutes, before he'd have to walk a few minutes to make his teeth quit chattering.
He killed a good buck that day. Said the first thing he saw on the deer was a cloud of smoke, as the air vapor from the buck's nostrils looked like an old-timey steam train...
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Yeah it was cold - colder than I can recall - but I still cleaned my sidewalks and driveway as well as my next door neighbour’s and my friend’s (who winters in Mexico) place three blocks away. Also took the dog to the off leash park for his daily outings and run, albeit a run shortened to a half hour. I have good military spec winter clothing so I really don’t notice the cold or the wind chill.
As for the threat of power outages - that’s our provincial government doing what it does best. Politicizing and spreading fear. It’s an effective tool here.
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Furnace problems here .. 2 of us pulling straws who was going outside to clean out intakes & exhaust pipes overnight. Had to drive north to do the same with another property. Survived. No garage for 2 of 3 vehicles. I think it was approaching -50C. But it’s over. I’m watching for attic rain now. It never ends.
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Ruminating with my future in -40 weather, I can say, .. leave this woke city full of stupid people; go more rural & north; no EV ever; no solar; need a generator & a backup; need a wood stove backup; debating between gas vs electric heater in a triple! garage; get a Costco membership; probably need to arm myself like my neighbors; make friends with more farmers, ranchers.
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Furnace problems here .. 2 of us pulling straws who was going outside to clean out intakes & exhaust pipes overnight. Had to drive north to do the same with another property. Survived. No garage for 2 of 3 vehicles. I think it was approaching -50C. But it’s over. I’m watching for attic rain now. It never ends.
Furnace issues are nothing short of a nightmare when the mercury drops the way it did this weekend. I can feel for you and what you had to go through. We had no issues with either of our furnaces. I only had to de-ice the exhaust pipe on our hot water on demand system this morning. Hopefully we’re out of the doghouse for the rest of winter. Although anything can happen right up to the end of March. I am just thankful we had a good dump of snow before the -40 temperatures hit. At least the trees, shrubs and lawns will now overwinter with minimal damage.
Hang in there.
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@Renauda I think the wild fires screwed up something with a sensor. It’s taking way too for heat to kick in & go up. I should’ve got it cleaned after wild fire season. Got someone coming to check it in 10 days. We’re getting a decent dump now. I don’t want a chinook now with a frozen attic.
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@Renauda I think the wild fires screwed up something with a sensor. It’s taking way too for heat to kick in & go up. I should’ve got it cleaned after wild fire season. Got someone coming to check it in 10 days. We’re getting a decent dump now. I don’t want a chinook now with a frozen attic.
I don’t want a chinook now with a frozen attic.
Not sure I follow you. Attics in this climate should normally be no more than a few degrees above the temperature outside. That is why there are porous soffits and roof vents as they ensure warm air is not trapped up there. When warm air gets trapped in the attic in winter then condensation and ice damming happens causing serious problems.
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Attic rain after acute chinooks. Common problem here. We’ve multiple assessments & real problems costing us lots improving flow. The attic is not easily accessible to check for leaks with the vapor barrier. Insulation is adequate. I made a stupid decision buying this house, even though I had it inspected. It has ceiling speakers throughout. Vaulted 2nd floor. Crap 2005 Tyvek wrap under stucco on 3 sides.
