Whether it’s electricity running into your home or fuel being used to power a generator, energy of all sorts is in high demand.
Constant cold temperatures have hydro and gas utilities setting wintertime records.
“The bulk of the increase we’ve seen is basically (due to) the cold weather that we’ve seen over the past month,” says Wally Malcolm, director of Kitchener Utilities.
Malcolm says Kitchener Utilities recorded a peak demand of 2.23 million cubic metres on Jan. 7 – a level they’ve nearly matched five days since then, but only come close to once before during the past 10 years.
In general, Malcolm says, Kitchener Utilities has seen about a 20 per cent increase in gas demand over January 2013 – an increase that will translate to about $23 more on the average utility bill.
Union Gas estimates that its average local customer will see a $17 increase in gas costs – a discrepancy Malcolm chalks up to the different buying strategies of the two groups.
“They ride the market. We don’t. As rates go up, their rates will go up while ours will stay pretty static,” he says.
“When you take it over a 10, 15-year period, the rates should be pretty much the same.”
At Waterloo North Hydro, spokesperson Wayne Murch says demand peaked at 250 megawatts – more than previous January highs but less than summertime peaks, when air conditioners are running at full blast.
Much of the increase in demand Murch sees is from residential and smaller commercial customers.
“This time of year, your furnace is running more often. Usage could be up based on that alone,” he says.
For those who aren’t serviced by municipal utilities, energy demand has been just as high this winter.
Greg Cusimano, president of Kitchener-based Boucher & Jones Fuels, says propane sales are up significantly from last winter.
“It’s been tough to keep everybody full,” he says.
