Could ongoing drought put a further strain on our power grid amid record breaking demand?
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PRINCE GEORGE — Amid record breaking electricity demand and a massive investment announcement by the Premier, B.C.’s power grid may be facing a larger issue, drought. Hydroelectric generating stations produce 95 percent of the province’s electricity, but what happens if there is less water to draw from?
The ongoing drought in B.C., and the North in particular, has caused numerous problems from wells going dry to vegetation drying up. But water is where we get our power from and if that dries up, we could be in the dark. It’s a problem the Premier acknowledges, but is also confident that our current system of hydroelectric dams will hold up, as plans to electrify B.C. go into high gear.
“The drought without question puts strain on B.C. Hydro’s ability to produce power … The benefit of our dams is they can act like big batteries to support wind power, support solar power when the sun’s not shining and the wind’s not blowing. The dams can be used to back it up. This will help extend the water that we do have to use to generate power and and ensure that we’re getting the benefit of the water that is now flowing through the dams as we face extended drought periods.” – Premier David Eby
